Intangible
by AuntJackie
Summary: Randy, John, Cody and Ted survived Rose's Inn and are slowly getting back to normal. However, something seems determined to stop that from happening...SEQUEL to Rose's Inn!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here it is! The sequel to "Rose's Inn"! I own no character's from WWE, only my OC's Lily, Mark, Angel and Rose!**

"Your total will be $524, Mr. Orton."

Randy looked at the store cashier and nodded. He pulled out his credit card and tapped his hand impatiently while awaiting his receipt. He felt a tug on his hand and looked down at his daughter.

"What is it, Al?"

Alanna smiled happily at her father and reached out her arms. Randy smiled back and felt all his annoyance melt away as he picked up his daughter. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks for my toys, daddy."

Randy smiled and sighed. "No problem, baby. There's nothing daddy likes to do more than shop for toys on a Saturday with tons of other kids constantly bumping him."

Alanna laughed and slid off Randy's arms. Together, with a load of toys, they walked out of the crowded St. Louis Mills Mall and towards the mall parking lot. The area was abuzz with the excitement customary to any Saturday morning. Parents walked into the mall with their children en route to a day of shopping while couples strolled hand in hand. As much as Randy hated shopping, he loved making his daughter smile. For her he would endure the crowds and autograph fiends that followed him whenever he went out. Thankfully, the hustle and bustle of the crowded mall today meant Randy went unrecognized.

"Hey, Al, why don't we go visit Angel?"

Alanna's eyes lit up instantly. As soon as Alanna had met the precocious 8 year old boy a few months ago they had become like surrogate siblings.

"Yeah! Let's go, daddy."

Randy smiled and buckled Alanna into her car seat. Along the ride Randy thought of how far he and all those affected had come in the last four months since their time at The Rose Inn. The group of friends had spent the last few months getting over the shock of it all and returning to their normal lives. There was no way to hide what had happened to them with a storyline of an injury, as would have been the norm. The true story had been all over the news.

Vince McMahon had issued a statement confirming the ordeal the four friends underwent and that they would be taking a leave of absence for as long as they needed. Their number one focus had been to set up a stable home for Mark, Lily and Angel. The family had decided to settle in St. Louis, since Angel had already formed an attachment with Randy. The friends got them settled into a comfortable home in a quiet St. Louis suburb and maintained constant contact with them. A tight friendship had formed between the friends and the family. A huge part of that was Angel. Everyone who came into contact with the child fell in love with him. He radiated pure light and joy and the men loved him. Randy had been thrilled to have them so close to his own home in High Ridge. He was thrilled Angel and his daughter had formed a friendship.

As soon as the story broke of four of WWE's top superstars held hostage in a crazy inn in the middle of nowhere where they solved an even bigger mystery and rescued three people, the media went crazy. News and Internet reports were everywhere and the group was hounded by reporters day and night. Unfortunately, due to their connection to the incident, Lily, Mark and Angel were also thrown in the spotlight. Reporters fought for the first interview and crazed people terrorized the household with prank calls. It broke the men's hearts, but no one could stop it. The attention would be on them until a bigger story came to light.

"OK, we're here!" Randy took Alanna out of her car seat and carried her up the pathway towards Mark and Lily's house.

"Angel! It's me! Open the door!" yelled Alanna from Randy's arms. He set her down on the floor.

"Al, will you just knock. There's no need for screaming, baby," said Randy with a smile.

The door swung open and Angel ran out to meet them. "Randy! Alanna! I knew you were coming today!"

Randy smiled and hugged the boy tightly before letting him go. Angel grabbed his and Alanna's hand and pulled them in.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" Lily walked into the hall and smiled when she saw Randy standing there. She quickly ran to the door and gave him a hug and kiss.

"Randy, I'm so glad to see you. Mark is working all day and I was getting so bored. It's funny but Angel told me he had a feeling you were coming."

"I think we have a little psychic on our hands." Randy said with a smile.

"Wouldn't surprise me," She replied with a laugh.

Lily looked down at Alanna and opened her eyes in fake shock. "Well, who is this gorgeous child you bought with you, Randy?"

Alanna giggled. "It's me, Lily. Alanna,"

"No way! You are too beautiful to be Alanna." Lily smiled and picked up Alanna and gave her a huge hug. "You get more adorable every day, sweetie. You look just like your beautiful daddy."

Randy smiled and looked at the kids. "OK, guys. You go play awhile and let me and Lily talk."

Both kids nodded and ran off to Angel's room hand in hand.

Randy and Lily walked into the living room and sat down. Lily poured Randy a glass of water from the pitcher on the side table. As she set the glass down, Randy noticed a small tremble in her hand.

"So, Lil, how's it going?"

Lily sat down and folded her hands in her lap. She shook her head and looked towards Angel's room to make sure the kids were out of hearing range.

"Oh, Ran, the calls haven't stopped. They've lessened, but there's still at least one a day. The kids tease Angel at school and I don't know what to do. He's so good about it, but I know it must be doing something to him. He's going to be tortured by all this some day, I just know it."

Randy frowned and shook his head. "Lily, I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I feel so responsible."

"Why? You didn't do any of it. My crazy mother was the one who kept us trapped in that attic and told our son we were in 'heaven'. You saved us. You and the boys gave us a new chance at life."

Randy shook his head. "If it wasn't for all those reports on the news and Internet, no one would know. If we weren't so well known, this would've never happened." He sighed loudly and ran his hands over his head.

"Maybe we could hire some more security. Or we could consider pulling Angel out of school for awhile and get him a tutor," said Randy with a shrug.

Lily smiled and shook her head. "No, honey. You guys have done enough. It'll all blow over. Soon, I hope."

Randy nodded and patted her hand.

Lily raised an eyebrow and looked at him closely. "Let's talk about happier things; things like you and John."

Randy smiled as an image of his boyfriend popped in his head. After the revelations of the night of 'rose', the two men had taken their time with their relationship. They were very aware of all that could go wrong if it was handled wrong. They had the future of their career, friendships, and family riding on how they handled their relationship.

"We're good; still going strong, happily in love, but in our own homes." replied Randy with a laugh. "Our own homes, two dysfunctional blocks away."

Once the couple realized their feelings for each other, and that they lived more than 1,000 miles away, they had each bought a small home in the others' hometown. They took turns visiting each others city because they realized they could not be apart from each other when on break from WWE.

"Not ready to move in? Take the next step?" asked Lily

Randy shook his head. "No, too soon. I've got to concentrate on building a solid foundation first. Alanna is number one and she's still shaky after the divorce."

Lily smiled thoughtfully.

"You are a great dad, Randy. You remind me of Mark." She laughed loudly as she caught sight of a picture on the mantel. "I haven't spoken to the boys in a few days. How are they?"

Randy shook his head as he followed her gaze to a picture of Cody and Ted. "As insane as ever! They're very happy, though. I think they've spoken about marriage a bit, but they're still so young, neither is in a hurry."

She nodded. "I agree. How is Sam doing in Cabo?"

"She's good. A honeymoon is always good. I'm glad she's happy. Al gets along well with David, so I'm happy."

Randy smiled as he thought of his ex-wife. She had been so scared when informed of what Randy had went through but was the first to remind him of the good that came out of that night. She had been thrilled when she heard of his feelings for John. Randy hadn't expected that reaction, but he realized she had known all along. Her only wish was for a continued friendship with him for the sake of their daughter and he had wholeheartedly agreed. She had married her boyfriend, a lawyer named David, a month after the incident with Rose and was currently having the time of her life on her honeymoon.

It was amazing but after everything that happened, all seemed well now in all their lives.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Randy and Alanna walked into their own home.

"Al, take your stuff upstairs. I'm gonna order dinner."

Alanna nodded and smiled happily. Randy looked at her walking upstairs and smiled. The time off was giving him a nice chunk of time to spend with his daughter and Randy was enjoying every minute of it. He turned and walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello, China Star Restaurant."

He ordered food for him and Alanna, and then ordered another order for John. He looked out the backyard doors towards John's house and walked back to the phone.

"Super Cena residence! How may I help you?"

Randy laughed. "Cody, what are you doing?"

"Randy, you're home! I'm so happy! I was waiting for you with Teddy and Johnny here, but God is this house boring!"

Randy smiled as he heard John scream in indignation in the background and Ted gasp. "Cody, that's not nice, baby"

"Enough, guys. Put my man on the phone. We're having dinner over here." Replied Randy

"Hey, how come only he gets dinner? We want dinner, too." Said Cody sounding annoyed

"Fine, just come over with John. The food will be here in 20 minutes."

Randy turned and walked out to the foyer to leave the door open for John, Cody and Ted. As he walked back into the kitchen for plates and cups, he noticed the silence in the house; a silence that was never present when Alanna was in the house. He frowned and walked up the stairs quickly and down the hall to Alanna's room.

"Al?" he called as he swung open the door.

The room's floor was covered with toys, but Alanna was nowhere to be found. He quickly looked around the room, in the closet and even under the bed but his daughter was in neither place.

"Alanna! This is not funny! Come out wherever you are!"

Silence was his only answer. Randy felt his heart start to race and his breath quicken. He ran out of Alanna's room and into his own. It was empty, as well.

"Oh my God."

Quickly turning to run and check the downstairs, he crashed right into his daughter.

"Ouch, Daddy!" Alanna looked at Randy with her blue eyes wide open.

"Where the hell were you, Alanna? I was calling you and looking for you. Why were you hiding from me?" Randy asked in one breath. He bent down and picked up his daughter and hugged her tight.

"I was in the potty, Daddy. Not hiding."

Randy sighed. "I didn't even think of that. I thought you were..." He trailed off and shook his head.

"Dinner's coming soon and so are your uncles. I'll come get you when they're here. Just go play for now."

Alanna nodded her head but looked at Randy with the same look of concern he often had on his face. It amazed Randy how much she looked like him and was even beginning to mimic his mannerisms, as even Sam begrudgingly acknowledged.

Randy watched her for a few minutes and then remembered the open front door. He walked back down the stairs and noticed it was still partly open. He frowned and wondered what was taking the guys so long. Just as he was about to call them again, the door flew open and Cody ran in.

"Food! I need food now!"

Randy gasped and shook his head, annoyed. "Damn it, must you come in like that? I've almost had two heart attacks in the last 5 minutes."

Cody pouted his lips and gave Randy a quick hug. "Sorry, buddy. I'm just really hungry. Why are you so jumpy today?"

Randy just shrugged and shook his head at the same time. He smiled at Ted, who walked in behind Cody, and gave him a quick hug.

"Food's not here yet. Go rummage around in the kitchen."

Cody gave him a thumbs up and walked off with Ted on his heels. Randy smiled at the odd couple but looked back towards his door when he heard a throat clear. He felt his smile grow when he looked at the face of the man he loved.

"Hey, gorgeous."

Randy walked towards John and enveloped him in a tight hug. "I missed you today", he whispered in John's ear.

He felt John hug him tighter. "I missed you more."

Randy laughed and turned to kiss his neck and the curve of his jaw before landing on his lips. John returned his kiss eagerly and felt his mind spin. He loved how his relationship with Randy was succeeding and hated every moment they were apart. He wished Randy would agree to let them move in together, but he understood his hesitation. He had to concentrate on making Alanna completely comfortable with the idea and make sure she understood.

The sound of the doorbell made them break apart.

"That's the food. Will you get Al for me and bring her to dinner?" asked Randy.

John nodded and walked up to Alanna's room. He could hear the little girl's giggles and felt himself start to smile as well. The entire group of friends had loved Alanna from the moment they first laid eyes on her in the hospital room. He could never forget the moment Randy introduced her to him as "Uncle John". Now, he was secretly hoping for so much more. It would make his heart complete to have this little he loved so much see him as a father, as well.

John knocked on her door and called, "Al? Can I come in?"

He heard little footsteps run to the door and smiled when she opened it wide. "Uncle Johnny!"

John picked her up and hugged her tightly. "Hey kiddo! Wow, look at all this loot." John looked at the bedroom floor and saw it covered with toys.

"Your dad went crazy buying toys, kid!"

Alanna giggled and nodded. "Yeah, then we went to see Angel."

John raised his eyebrows. "Cool. Come on. Let's go eat and you could tell me more about your day, OK."

Alanna nodded. On the way down to the kitchen she told John all about her trip to the mall and what they had done. They walked hand in hand into the dining room where Randy and Ted had set up five plates and the food. Cody had already begun eating, but he stopped when Alanna ran into his arms.

"Hey, it's my favorite girl, Alanna!"

"Hi, Uncle Cody."

Randy placed Alanna's food on her plate and sat her next to Cody and Ted, who kissed Alanna's forehead.

"So, Al told me you went to see Angel today. How are things going for them?" asked John quietly while serving himself some food. He sat next to Randy on the other end of the table.

Randy looked over at Alanna who was eating calmly while telling Cody and Ted about her day.

"The same I guess. The calls haven't stopped. I offered more security for them, but Lily wants things to get back to normal on their own. I don't know how she does it. I still get them here every once in awhile and they freak me out each and every time."

John nodded. "I know. Me too. All of us, really. Hell, I gotta admit, some of these people who crank call us are really good, though. How do they know exact details of that night?"

Randy looked at Alanna again. He shook his head and whispered angrily. "I don' know what to think. It's been four months! When can we finally have peace?"

John shrugged as he looked at Randy's eyes flashing dangerously. He reached over and grasped his hand. "Soon, baby. Look, they're just crank calls. You and all of us know it can't be crazy Rose. No one could have survived that fire, Ran."

Randy raised his eyebrow. "Let's hope so. The evil tend to live through anything. Just like in those damn movies. They never die."

**A/N: Review and give me your opinions!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hope you are all enjoying the continuation of this story! **

John, Cody and Ted helped Randy clean up after dinner while Alanna watched TV. A bolt of lightning shook the deck doors in the kitchen and made all men jump. The skies had darkened throughout the afternoon and the rain suddenly started coming down in sheets.

"Damn. We're such chicken shits." mumbled Cody, handing Ted a plate.

"With all this Rose business who wouldn't be?" replied Randy, as he leaned out of a gap in the door with a cigarette and tried to avoid getting soaked.

"It will all be better soon, guys. Don't worry about prank calls and letters. Some people are just jerks." John said with a comforting smile, as he put away the clean plates and took a seat on a bar stool. After the bullet to his leg, he had undergone intense rehabilitation to get back full use of it. It had only been a short time, though, so his leg could only take so much time on his feet.

Randy looked over at John and smiled. Despite how much John claimed to hate his role as leader of the group of friends, he never really stopped acting like it. He threw out the cigarette stub and walked behind him, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"OK, kitchen's clean, you little control freak." Cody threw down the sponge and washed his hands. He looked out at the rain and back at John and Randy.

"And, I know you two wanna make out for a bit but John, you need to drive us home."

Randy laughed as he wrapped his arms around John. "Where are your cars? Or ever heard of a cab?"

"Cody and I jogged to Johnny's earlier but there is no way we're jogging now." Ted looked out the patio doors as a bolt of lightning lit up the yard. "Yeah, so not jogging in that."

John nodded and looked towards Randy. "I'll give them my car so we could hang out tonight"

Randy smiled, but shook his head. "It's OK, Johnny. We'll hang out tomorrow. I'm exhausted and I just want to put Al to bed and go to sleep myself."

John smiled and nodded. "OK, baby. No problem." He stood and wrapped Randy in a hug. Randy smiled as he looked at John's beautiful dimples in full effect and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Cody and Ted walked to the front door as Cody yelled, "Later, Ran! See you tomorrow. Thanks for the grub!"

"Love you, babe. See you tomorrow." John gave Randy one more kiss before following the boys through the rain towards his house.

Randy closed the door and stared out them until he saw John drive past Randy's house en route to Ted and Cody's house. He set the alarm and double checked everything in the kitchen before collapsing on the couch next to Alanna, who immediately crawled into his lap.

* * *

A loud bang made Randy jump. He looked at the clock on the cable box and saw that it was 11:47 pm. SpongeBob was having a conversation with Patrick on the TV and Alanna was fast asleep beside him. Randy sighed deeply and picked her up. He checked the doors and the alarm again and stood in front of his bay window trying to determine the source of the bang that woke him up. A bolt of lightning illuminated his front yard and he saw a huge branch of a tree lying on the lawn.

"I guess the lightning knocked you off the tree." He mumbled with a yawn.

Randy turned off the TV and lights and went upstairs and down the hall to Alanna's room. He tucked her in carefully and kissed her forehead. As he stepped out of the room he left Alanna's door slightly open. He moved towards his room and once in it, threw himself on the bed. He was almost asleep when the phone rang. He groaned loudly but picked it up before the ringing could disturb his daughter.

"Hello," he asked cautiously.

"Hey, I just saw your lights go off."

Randy smiled despite his sleepiness at the sound of John's voice. "Yeah. Al and I fell asleep on the couch, but a tree woke me up."

"A tree?"

"Lighting fried a branch off my tree in the front yard. Landed on the floor with a loud bang." Randy groaned as he stretched his muscles.

"Oh, well then go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you more."

They hung up the phone and Randy turned in his bed. The phone rang again. He sighed and turned over. "This is so not funny."

He picked up and said, "What did you forget to tell me, Johnny?"

"I wouldn't know." responded an unfamiliar voice.

Randy sat up in bed fully alert. "Who is this?"

"Don't you recognize me, dear?"

A roar of thunder shook the house. Randy got out of bed and turned on a light. He looked at his Caller ID box and saw the words, "Out Of Area" on it.

"Look, it's too late for this shit and I don't have the time or the patience for it. Get a life, lady."

He was about to hang up but heard the woman speaking. Despite his better judgment, he listened.

"I have a life, dear. A very full life with a purpose. To destroy you and all you friends. But first I think I'll start with the person you love the most. I remember you told me you were a father."

A loud click followed. Randy dropped the phone onto its base. He quickly walked the hallway down to Alanna's room and pushed open the door. She was sound asleep in her bed with an arm thrown over her eyes.

"God, why is this still happening?" He slid to the floor and remained there all night watching his daughter sleep.

* * *

**Four months ago**

_John grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the doors. They turned around and bumped into a dark-haired little boy of no more than 6 years old._

_Randy and John stared at each other and then at the child who was staring back at them intently. John nudged Randy in the hip and pushed him towards the boy. "You're a Dad. You talk to him."_

_Randy smiled and slowly approached the little boy. He bent down to look him in the eye._

_"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing wandering around at 2:00 in the morning?"_

_The little boy smiled and shrugged. He sat on the floor and continued to stare at John and Randy._

_Randy had to smile. The little boy was dressed in dinosaur pajamas and had the most intense green eyes. He sat down Indian style in front of him._

_John involuntarily smiled at this action._

_"What's your name? I'm Randy and he's John."_

_The boy smiled. He reached out to Randy's arms and started to trace his tattoos._ _"My name is Angel. I'm not sleepy. Why do you have pictures on your arms?"_

_Randy looked down at his arms and smiled._ _"I guess I like them. I'm not sleepy, either. Where are your parents?"_

_Angel looked at the ceiling. He pointed to it._ _"They're in heaven. I live here with my grandma."_

_Randy looked at John and mumbled a curse. He felt guilty for bringing it up now._ _"I'm sorry, Angel. Where's your grandma?"_

_Angel shrugged his shoulders and stood up in one quick motion. He walked over to John and pointed at him. He looked at Randy who had stood up as well._

_"You love him." _

_The men stared at each other with shocked expressions unsure of what to say or do. Finally, Randy smiled and slowly nodded._

_"Yes, I do. John is my best friend and like a brother to me. I do love him."_

_Angel ran to Randy, grabbed his hands and squeezed._ _"Then get away from here. This place is bad. Really bad. Bad things happen. You have to leave."_

_Randy shook his head and bent down to calm Angel. The boy pulled Randy into a tight hug and refused to let go. Randy picked him up and began to rock him._

_"Angel, it's OK. Everything is OK." He rubbed the little boy's back and stared at John, who was staring back in shock._

_Randy continued to soothe the boy when suddenly Rose appeared in the corridor. Her eyes widened furiously at the sight of Angel in Randy's arms._

_"Angel, my child! Why are you wandering around and bothering our guests?"_ _She moved quickly down the hall and yanked Angel away from Randy._

_"I told them the truth, grandma. This place is bad. They're nice. I don't want them to die like momma and daddy."_

_Rose stared at the boy and pulled his arm roughly, making Angel cry out in pain._

_"How dare you child! No more lies or I'll beat you senseless!"_

_Randy and John watched the scene before them unsure of what to do. Upon hearing Rose's threat, though, they could take no more._

_"No way, lady. You are not going to hurt this child." said John sternly._

_"Sometimes a child needs a different kind of discipline. You boys would not understand, so don't interfere and tell me what to do."_

_Randy smirked and stared at her._ _"Wrong, lady. I completely understand disciplining a child. I happen to be a father. Beating a child does not count as discipline. It's called abuse and last time I checked there was a little thing called a law that forbids it. I'll be more than happy to call the police over here so they can explain it to you."_

_Rose stared at them with a look of loathing but Randy's glare could not be matched. The sweet demeanor from Rose earlier in the evening was gone. She took Angel by the hand and dragged him away._

_"Remember what I said!" Randy called after them._

* * *

"Daddy? Why are you on the floor?"

Randy heard his daughter's voice far away and felt him being shaken. He opened his eyes and looked into Alanna's. He groaned loudly as he rolled his neck.

"What time is it, baby?"

Alanna shrugged and ran out of the room. Randy stood up gingerly due to the pain in his back and neck. He rubbed it with his hand and immediately remembered the call from the night before.

"Alanna? Come here!"

Alanna ran back into the room with Randy's cell phone. She handed it to him. "Look at the time!"

Randy smiled and took his phone. He noticed it was a little past 8:00 am. "Listen, baby, I'm gonna take a quick shower then we'll get you dressed. Come in my room and play. Don't open the door if you hear the bell."

Alanna nodded and walked with Randy towards his master suite. He set her on his bed and walked himself into the adjoining bathroom to prepare for the day.

An hour later, they both walked down to the kitchen fully dressed.

"What do you want for breakfast, Al?"

Alanna shrugged and went to look out the patio doors at the tree on the lawn. "Daddy, what happened?"

Randy set out a box of cereal and some milk on the counter. He started to make himself some coffee and toast.

"There was a storm last night, babe. It was so strong it broke the tree." He looked over her and into the yard. "I'm gonna have to call someone to clean that up," he murmured.

He picked up the phone but before he could dial a number the phone rang in his hand. "What?"

"Well, excuse me. Why the voice?"

Randy shook his head while buttering some toast. "What's up, Teddy? I just had a bad night."

"Well, get ready for a worse morning. Our lawyers want to meet with us at 11:00 in John's house. Lily and Mark are gonna be there, too."

Randy took a sip of coffee and sighed loudly. "Did something new happen?"

"Nope, but what's already been happening is enough. We need to put a stop to it."

Randy nodded and hung up the telephone.

"Al, I have to go to a meeting, so we're gonna go to Uncle John's. Angel will be there so you can hang out with him, OK?"

Alanna nodded happily. Randy busied himself with making breakfast for himself and his daughter and tried not to think of having to endure yet another lawyer meeting.

* * *

At precisely 11:00am they walked into John's house. Lily and Mark had not arrived but Cody and Ted were pacing in the living room.

"I still don't understand why we still have to go through these meetings with our lawyers. We have to keep going through it with them over and over. It's annoying! I mean, am I wrong or right?"

Everyone grew silent and looked at each other. Ted was usually the calm and collected one.

Cody stood up and walked over to him. He put his hand around his shoulders and kissed the side of his forehead. "Of course we agree with you, honey, but maybe we do need to continue talking about it. We need to figure out all we can about this situation."

Ted shook his head in frustration. "What is there to figure out, guys? The fat lady has sung! Rose is dead. That place burned to the ground. No one could have survived that. She's gone and we're all OK now. Let's just tell the lawyers we're done with it. No more meetings."

John nodded. "I agree. I think we all do. The only way for everything to stop is to go public. We have to face this. Just do a quick interview and clear up the rumors from the truth. Maybe once people see we're taking this in stride and dealing with it maturely, all the ridiculous pranks will stop. No more calls, letters, and all that other crap. Ted is right. Rose is gone. We all need to move on."

Everyone but Randy nodded and started talking emphatically again. He stood up and walked to the window. He looked towards his house and watched the sanitation company he called before he left the house clear his lawn of the fallen tree limb.

John noticed Randy standing all by himself in front of his window. He walked over to him and put his arms around his waist. He laid his head on Randy's shoulder and pressed a kiss to his neck.

"You're being kind of quiet. What's wrong?"

Randy turned and pulled himself out of John's embrace. He shook his head and sat back down. "I don't agree."

Everyone stopped their discussion and turned to look at him. He took a deep breath and shrugged.

"I think we should investigate this more. Really look into the fire, the blueprints of the inn, the report that states Rose died, everything. I'm sorry, but until I see a charred body, I won't believe this is truly over. Some of the phone calls I get are ridiculous, but some of them feel real. Too real and too close for comfort. I mean the one I got last night made me spend the night in Al's room."

John frowned and sat beside him. "When did you get a call? I spoke to you so late. Why didn't you tell me?"

Randy shook his head. "It was right after I hung up with you. Not even 5 seconds later."

"What did they say, Ran?" asked Cody delicately.

"The usual threats against me and all you guys. This time, though, they mentioned Alanna. It was a lady and I told her to get a life. She told me she had a full life with a purpose to destroy us all but she would start with the most important thing to me. Then she said, I remember you told me you were a father. It terrified me because that's what I told Rose the night she almost hit Angel in front of me and John."

"Everyone knows you're a dad, Randy. That call could have been anyone. Why did you instantly think this person, instead of all the other callers, was Rose?" Ted asked.

Randy shrugged. "I don't know. It was weird. I got this gut feeling. I haven't taken any other call so seriously. This one really got to me."

No one answered him. Everyone looked down at their hands and looked deep in thought. Randy felt guilty for bringing it up and stood up. He was about to walk back towards the window when John pulled him back down.

"Don't feel guilty. You have every right to say what you feel."

Randy smiled and shook his head. "It's creepy when you read my mind, Johnny."

He turned serious and sighed loudly. "I hate being the pessimist. I want to believe it's all over and this lady is gone forever, but we don't know. She had this hidden room no one knew about where she kept Lily and Mark. Who knows how many other hidden rooms there might have been? Maybe she made it out before the fire got to her. That place was surrounded by woods. She could have hid in them or run away before the cops started searching. Everyone is so certain she's dead. What if we're all wrong?"

"She was a little old lady, Randy. How could she out run a fire?" asked Cody with a frown.

"I don't know, but how could she knock you out and get you up to that attic? I can't explain it, but my guts, not to mention my parental instincts, are telling me that there is much more to this Rose story."

Everyone stared at Randy and the room fell silent.

**A/N: Review for faster updates!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Work is brutal! Here's the next one.**

Hours later after meeting with their attorneys, the group slowly filed out of John's house. The attorneys had also been insistent that the group should put the incident with Rose past them and call a press conference to acknowledge the situation for the public. They felt once the friends came out and cleared up truth from fiction, the calls and pranks would stop. Remaining in hiding and avoiding the press only made people more curious, they said. The group had agreed to the press conference but refused to let the attorneys close the case. Randy's insistence on continuing the search had motivated everyone. Well, except two people.

Randy sat on one of John's patio chairs and looked over to where Angel and Alanna were saying goodbye and sighed. Lily and Mark looked irritated at the turn the meeting had taken. It was obvious they wanted to put Rose behind them and forget she existed.

"I have the worst headache ever."

Randy turned to see Cody rubbing his head and frowning.

"Have you eaten today?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I ate a doughnut." He sat down besides Randy and looked at his best friend, who seemed to have aged 10 years in the last hour.

Randy shook his head and looked back to Lily and Mark. "They're so pissed at me, Codes."

Cody opened his mouth and looked at Randy. "What? They are not. OK, maybe they are a little annoyed, but not pissed."

Randy smirked and didn't answer.

Cody leaned towards him. "I'm serious. Look, no matter how affected we were by this whole situation, there's no question that Lily, Mark and Angel were most affected. We were just really unlucky to show up at that hotel, but that family had been suffering there for a very long time. Rose just picked us, a bunch of strangers, to mess with. It sucks what she did to us, but it sucks more what she did to her own daughter and family."

Cody stopped and took a deep breath. Lily and Mark looked up and waved goodbye. The men smiled and waved back as they walked out the door. Alanna ran up to Randy and grabbed his hand.

"Ran, we decided to keep investigating this thing for all our sakes and I promise you we will. If they're pissed, then hopefully they'll get over it. Maybe we'll find nothing, but if we do then it's a good thing you're so paranoid."

Randy nodded and smiled. He looked at Alanna and saw she was frowning. "Hey, what's up, baby?"

"I'm mad, Daddy!" She threw herself down on the ground and started digging in the grass.

Randy rolled his eyes at Cody and sat down on the ground with her. "Why, baby?'

"Angel said something bad and I'm mad at him."

Randy looked at Cody who shrugged and walked back into the house. He pulled Alanna into his lap and pulled a clump of soil and grass out of her little hand. He looked at his daughter's face and could see the annoyance on her face that so mimicked his own. They had the same intense blue eyed stare and forehead, which was now creased with a frown. Randy still found himself staring at his daughter sometimes and marveling at the life he had created. There was no one he loved more or was more important to him.

"What did Angel say to you?"

Alanna looked up at him with wide eyes. The annoyance was gone and replaced with a look of fear.

"He said you're going to die, Daddy! He said his grandma and her friend want to kill you because they don't like you. Is it true, Daddy? Please, don't die, Daddy!" Alanna grabbed Randy's neck and hung on tightly as she started to cry.

Randy felt his face freeze in shock that Angel would say something like that and he pulled Alanna up to look at her.

"Hey, Alanna, listen to me. I don't know why Angel said that but I promise you that no one is going to hurt me. I'm not going anywhere. Not for a very long time."

Alanna looked at him through teary eyes. "Really? You have to promise again, Daddy."

Randy smiled and wiped Alanna's tears away. "I swear to you. No one is gonna hurt me, baby. I'm gonna be here to see you ride a bike, drive a car, become a doctor and get married and have your own baby."

Alanna made a face and shook her head. "Yuck, daddy, I don't wanna get married."

Randy laughed and nodded. "I wish I could record that and play it back for you in like 30 years."

Alanna laughed and hugged her father tightly. She stood up and ran off to the house while Randy just stared at her retreating back. He lay down on the grass and closed his eyes. It seemed everything was working against him. Despite his trying to keep Alanna in the dark about this whole situation, Angel had now bought up the delicate topic with his daughter. He had no idea what to do. As he lay there he heard footsteps approach and opened his eyes to see John looking down at him.

"What are you doing lying on the ground?"

Randy shrugged and pointed to the sky. "I'm just looking up and thinking. This day has really sucked."

John nodded and lay down beside him in the grass. He placed his head on Randy's chest and felt him wrap his arm around his back. "Yeah, we have had better days. Not for a few months, though. At least things can't get any worse."

Randy sat up, lifting John with him. He smiled and looked at John with a look of disbelief. "I cannot believe you said that. You just put this biggest jinx on this situation!"

John laughed. "You don't believe in any of that shit."

Randy shook his head and lifted himself of the ground. He dusted himself off and sighed loudly. "I didn't believe in a lot of stuff."

He held his hand out but John shook his head with a laugh and lay back down on the grass. Randy smiled and walked back into the kitchen where Ted and Cody sat with Alanna.

Cody placed two jars in front of Alanna, who sat in a chair. "So, princess, when you make this sandwich, the key is to use creamy peanut butter and grape jelly. Crunchy peanut butter is really gross and sticks to your gums even more."

Randy smiled at the look of concentration on their faces. He saw Alanna dig her hands into the peanut butter and spread it on a piece of bread before handing it to Ted, who sat opposite her reading the morning paper.

"It's good, Uncle Teddy. Taste it."

Ted shrugged and nodded. He bit into the sandwich and licked his lips. "Good, Al! It's delicious!"

Randy cringed and walked over to get a napkin. "That is so disgusting. Alanna, did you tell Teddy you were digging in the grass with your hands before making this delicious sandwich?"

Alanna shook her head and gave her father her hands.

"Yuck, Al. You made me eat peanut butter with grass? You're lucky I like you."

Ted stuck out his tongue and wiped it on a napkin as Cody laughed loudly. "You know, I have had worse sandwiches, though. I guess if I had to eat grass, it would be OK."

Randy laughed and set Alanna on the floor. "I'll order some real food for us. Grass free."

"I'm gonna go outside and play, Daddy."

"Stay on the grass!" shouted Randy as Alanna ran out the door.

"It's OK. John is still out there." said Cody as put the food away and cleaned the counter.

Randy picked up the phone to call the Chinese restaurant and order some lunch. A loud screeching outside made him turn to look out John's window. He saw a dark blue car fly past the house and make a turn into the front yard.

"Oh my god! Alanna!" He yelled and ran to the door getting there just in time to see the car crash into the side of the house.

"What the hell happened? Where's John and Alanna?" yelled Cody running out after him.

Randy felt his heart stop as his eyes searched the yard frantically for John and Alanna.

"Where are they?"

**A/N: Review, peeps! Will update soon, promise!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Another update! **

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Randy turned at the sound of his daughter's voice and saw her run out from behind the wreckage left from the car.

"Alanna! Are you OK?" Randy picked her up and examined her from head to toe. He felt his eyes water and his heart rate return to normal as he looked at his daughter, who appeared safe and sound.

"I'm OK, Daddy. Uncle John pushed me. Where is he?"

Randy squeezed his daughter in his arms and looked at the smoking wreckage. He heard Cody and Ted behind him start to approach the car.

"Where is he, Daddy?" asked Alanna again.

Randy shook his head and started to walk to the crumbling automobile. His heart felt like it would race out of his chest. "I don't know, baby."

The 3 friends walked in opposite directions surveying the ground for John. Randy felt himself grow desperate when suddenly he heard a low moan from behind him. Lying on the ground behind the front tire of the crashed car was a barely conscious John.

"Oh my God, John!"

Randy called out for Cody and gave him Alanna. He bent to check John who appeared to be dazed, but otherwise OK.

"Get her in the house and get an ambulance here now."

Cody and Ted nodded and ran into the house with Alanna.

"Johnny, it's OK, baby. You'll be fine. The ambulance is coming and they'll make you all better."

John groaned again and managed to open his eyes slightly. "Randy, what happened? Is Alanna with you?"

Randy nodded and kissed his forehead gently. "Yeah, baby, she's fine. You saved her. If you hadn't pushed her out of the way, she..."

Randy trailed off and shook his head as his eyes watered. He didn't want to think of what could have happened.

"Good. God, my head hurts and I'm like two inches away from a car tire. Can you move me away, babe?"

Randy smiled and pulled John gently away from the car. Once out John sat up slowly and looked at the door of the automobile.

"Don't move too much, John. You might have a concussion."

John shook his head. "I'm fine. Do we know who's in there?"

Randy shook his head. As if on cue the door of the car started to creak and open slowly. A slumped figure slowly fell out of the car and would have hit the floor if Randy hadn't moved forward and caught her. His eyes widened and tears started to fall down his face.

"Oh my God, no! It's Sam! Oh my God, John, it's Sam!"

Randy looked down at his ex-wife lying in his arms covered in blood. He saw John's face register shock as he got up and leaned into the car. He turned and looked at Randy.

"David is in here, too, Ran."

Randy wiped his eyes and brushed Sam's hair of her face. He heard the wail of the ambulance and saw two of them pulling up in front of John's yard. They ran out of their vehicles and over to the wreck

One of the EMT's ran over to Randy and looked at Sam in his arms.

"Hey, we need a stretcher over here now! Sir, please let us pick her up."

Randy stood up and let the man set Sam up in the stretcher. He saw the other paramedic working on getting David out of the car as two police cars pulled up to the scene. John leaned on him and closed his eyes.

"Sir, what happened here?" asked an officer.

Randy shook his head and wrapped his arms around John. "You have to help him, too, first, please."

The officer nodded and called a paramedic who led John to an ambulance while Randy explained what happened. The officer took notes until Randy finished. He turned and walked over to the squad car while Randy ran back into the house.

Cody was holding Alanna away from the windows, but he and Ted had seen everything themselves.

"Please tell me I didn't see who I thought I saw in the car." Ted whispered as he walked over to Randy.

Randy just nodded and picked up his keys from the counter top. "Come on. We have to follow them to the hospital. I want to get Alanna checked out, too, but there's no way I'm putting her in an ambulance."

* * *

"Alanna is fine, Mr. Orton. She has a couple of scratches on her knees and hands from when she fell, but otherwise, she's perfect."

Randy gave a sigh of relief as he heard the doctor's words. He smiled at Alanna who sat patiently on the exam table sucking on a lollipop.

"Are you sure you're OK, though, Mr. Orton?"

The doctor looked closely at Randy's face. It was a strange sight to look upon. Randy's face was smeared with patches of blood and his clothes were a mixture of grass, dirt and more blood.

"I'm fine. None of this is mine." He responded pointing to himself.

He looked at Alanna again and shook his head. "If she's fine, then everything is OK."

The doctor smiled and nodded. He walked out of the room leaving Randy and his daughter alone.

"Can we go home now, Daddy?"

Randy sighed and looked at his daughter. He still hadn't told Alanna that her mother and step-father had been in the car. He had no idea how to begin to explain what was happening to Alanna. Her step-father had died instantly in the car crash, her mother was moments away from death herself, and if John hadn't pushed her out of the way, she would have been in the same situation.

"No, Alanna, we can't go home. We have to check on Uncle John and the other people in the accident."

Alanna frowned and asked, "Are they OK?"

Randy sat on the table with her and pulled her into his lap. "I don't know, baby. I think Uncle John will be OK, but the other people were hurt more. It's really sad, baby, because they were part of our family."

Alanna raised her eyebrows. "Who were they, Daddy?"

Randy took a deep breath. He could not lie to his daughter, but he hated having to break her heart.

"The people in the accident were David and mommy, Alanna."

Randy saw Alanna's eyes open in shock and he stopped momentarily but he knew he had to continue quickly before he lost his nerve. "They were driving and something happened and they crashed, Alanna. I'm sorry, baby, but David went to Heaven. Mommy is very sick and I don't know what's gonna happen to her."

Alanna sat quietly with her hands folded in her lap. Randy tightened his hold on her and placed a kiss on her head.

"Al, do you understand?"

Alanna nodded. "Is mommy going to Heaven to? Like Davey?"

Randy shook his head. "I don't know, baby. I really hope not. We just have to be strong and go see mommy now in her room, OK. Do you want to do that?"

Alanna nodded and took Randy's hand. They walked out of the room and to the hallway where Cody and Ted sat. Cody stood up when he saw Randy approach.

"Is she OK, Randy?"

Randy nodded. "Yeah, she's perfect. Just some scratches. Any news on John or Sam yet?"

Ted nodded. "John is fine. He has a mild concussion and he's resting right now. He's being discharged tomorrow. The news on Sam isn't good, though."

Randy looked down at Alanna who was watching them intently.

"Codes, can you take Al for a minute?"

Cody nodded and picked up Alanna. He moved over to the window with her and tried to distract her as Ted and Randy spoke.

"What did they tell you about Sam?"

Ted lowered his voice and said, "Sammy is in bad shape. She has massive internal damage and bleeding. They said we should all start saying our goodbyes. You have to call her parents, Ran."

Randy shook his head and turned away from Ted. He walked a couple of steps away and pounded the wall in frustration as his eyes filled with tears. He refused to believe his ex-wife and the mother of his child could be on the verge of death.

Ted walked over to him and shook his shoulders. "Randy, I know how hard this must be for you. It's horrible but you have to go in there and say your goodbye. You have to accept this and be strong for Alanna. You're her only parent now."

Randy nodded and wiped his face.

Ted sighed and gave Randy a tight hug. "It'll be OK, Randy. We're all here to help you. You know that."

Randy nodded once more. "I know I'm not alone. I honestly just don't know what to do."

Ted nodded and whispered in Randy's ear, "What I don't understand is what the hell happened today! How did Sam ram her car into John's yard like that?"

Randy shrugged. "I don't know. The cops are all over the place trying to figure that out. They're checking out the car, too."

"Daddy, can we go see mommy now?"

Alanna's voice made Randy look down. He felt his heart drop down into his stomach as he looked at Cody's sorrow filled eyes. He took his daughter from Cody's arms and they walked into Sam's room together.

The sight before him was shocking. His beautiful, vibrant ex-wife was lying on a hospital bed as white as a sheet. Black and blues covered her beautiful face. A thick white bandage wrapped her head. She looked at him as he entered the room.

"Hey, it's my beautiful boy with my gorgeous girl." She said weakly but with a smile.

That was it. He broke down. He put his daughter down and cried. He cried like he never had and for everything they were losing. His daughter's life without her, for the new husband Sam loved so much and for her life being taken away. It was being taken away from her so soon.

"Mommy, are you going to heaven?" asked Alanna, looking back from Sam to Randy.

"Yeah, sweetie, I think I am. It's OK, though, my love. I'm not leaving you alone. You have your daddy and so many people who love you. I'll still be with you, too. You just won't be able to see me, but I'll be watching you from heaven and protecting you, baby."

Alanna grabbed her mother's hand and shook her head. "But I want you here with me, mommy. Not in heaven! Please stay with me and daddy!"

Randy shook his head in disbelief at the sight before him. Never did he imagine he would have his four year old daughter saying goodbye to her dying mother.

Sam pulled Alanna into bed with her and squeezed her tight. "Listen, my love. You listen to me, Alanna. You have to be a strong, big girl now. I know this is hard for you and you don't understand, but you have to try. When God calls us up to heaven, we don't question him. We don't ask why, OK. We go and accept that the ones we love who stay here will still be with us. I will still be with you, Alanna."

"You mean like an angel?" asked Alanna with tear filled eyes.

Sam smiled and nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. I will be your angel and I will watch you and your daddy and never let anything happen to either one of you."

Alanna smiled a little and remained in Sam's embrace until she motioned over to Randy.

"Honey, go sit in the chair and let me talk to your daddy for a minute, OK."

Alanna moved over to where her dad was and sat down. Randy kissed her head before approaching Sam cautiously. He took her hand and smiled thinly.

"This is what I get for coming home early." Sam smiled as she pulled Randy down for a kiss. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'm supposed to say goodbye to you." He laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement. "How exactly am I supposed to do that?"

Sam smiled as she stared at her ex-husband's face. "You just do, darling. You accept what's going to happen and let me go. You remember the love we shared for so many years and you remember that no other man in this world was more significant to me than you. You were more than my husband. You gave me my beautiful princess there. You were my best friend and still are. You will take care of our daughter and remind her every day that," she stopped as her voice broke and the tears started flowing down her face. "You remind her every day that Mommy and Daddy love her and even though Mommy's not there in person, she's watching over both of you from heaven. I know you'll never let her forget me. I know you'll be a wonderful father to her. Hell, you already are. You will be OK, Randy. I know this."

Randy nodded as a tear rolled down his face and looked away. He kissed her hand and wiped the tears from her face.

"Do you know about David?"

Sam nodded as another tear fell from her face. "Yeah. I guess I'll be joining him soon."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

"Do you feel tired? You want us to leave now? I need to call your parents anyway."

Randy asked as he noticed Sam fading.

She opened her eyes quickly and smiled. "No, don't leave yet. I just want you two here for now. I want to hear all that happened in the lives of my two favorite people while I was gone." She replied with a smile.

Randy smiled and called Alanna over. She sat in his lap and the three talked for hours until Alanna fell asleep beside her mother. Randy sat staring at them until sleep finally took him over as well. Early in the morning, only the Randy and Alanna woke up. Sam was gone.

**A/N: Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, I'm keeping my part of the bargain by updating, but no one is reviewing! If you've lost interest in this story, I'll just stop...**

Early in the afternoon after Sam's death, Randy walked into his house with Alanna asleep in his arms.

The morning had gone by like a blur when Sam's parents made it to the hospital. Despite the grief Randy was feeling he couldn't imagine what Sam's parents were going through. They had just lost their only child; their little girl. Randy could only imagine what that felt like having come so close to losing his daughter in the same accident.

Cody and Ted had gone home hours before to catch some sleep but had promised to come over and watch Alanna when Randy went to pick up John later in the afternoon.

Randy walked up to Alanna's bedroom and laid her on the bed. He looked at his daughter as she slept and saw dark shadows under her eyes. The stress of the past couple of days had worn on her more than anyone. He left the bedroom door open and walked to his bedroom and straight into the connected bathroom. He stripped off his bloody clothes and threw them into a bag. He tied the bag and left it on his door to throw out after his bath.

A half an hour later he stepped out of his bedroom in jeans and a black t-shirt. He put the monitor that connected to Alanna's room into his back pocket, grabbed the bag containing Sam's blood and walked down into the trash. As he opened the door and walked to the trash can out in front of his yard he heard the sounds of the trucks and clean up crew Ted called to repair John's house. The men had put a huge tent like structure over the hole in John's house and security was on hand to protect the property. Reporters were being held back by security a mile back from the area in which John and Randy had their homes. As he looked at the men hard at work, he noticed a police car driving up to his own home. He put the lid on the trash and walked over to the car as it slid in his driveway. In the driver's seat he noticed the same officer who had escorted them back from the hospital.

"Detective Rosen, what's going on?"

The detective slid out of the car and shook Randy's hand. "We need to talk, Mr. Orton."

"Call me Randy, dude. I hate that Mr. Orton crap."

The detective nodded and smiled as they walked into the house and sat in his living room. The detective declined Randy's offer for something to drink and pulled out some papers from his briefcase.

"Randy, I'm afraid after much investigation we will have to turn over your ex-wife's case to homicide."

Randy frowned and asked, "Homicide? Isn't that when someone is killed on purpose or something?"

The detective nodded. "Yes it is. After investigating the wreckage of the car, we were able to find that her car was set with an automatic timer. The timer controlled her brake and steering functions. At any given time, this timer could have been activated and the person controlling it would have complete command of the car. It seems they decided to command the car into Mr. Cena's yard at the exact time you were all outside."

Randy shook his head in disbelief at what he was hearing. "So, someone made her car drive directly towards our daughter? I knew it couldn't have been her fault at all, but I just assumed it was an accident. You're telling me someone rigged her car so it could kill her and probably kill whoever she hit in that yard, too?"

The detective nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Randy, but yes."

Randy stood up and ran his hands through his short hair in frustration. "So, what do we do now, Detective? How do we find out who did this? Or are they just going to get away with it?"

"No, they're not. Whoever did this to Sam's car had to be within a certain distance of the vehicle when they controlled the timer, so we will have to question your neighbors to see if they saw anyone suspicious. Or if they sound a bit suspicious themselves. We are still working on the wreckage to see if we find anything new inside, as well."

Randy shook his head. "This is so crazy. In the hospital, my friends told you all about the situation with this Rose lady. You know…the phone calls and letters that won't stop. Could she be involved in this?"

"I did check with all the detectives assigned to the Rose case. It seems impossible that she survived such a severe fire. The fire took out the entire inn and the surrounding forest for almost 5 miles around it."

The detective rifled some papers and showed them to Randy. "As you can see, the property is still in ruins and no body has been able to be recovered, but everyone is certain that one won't be recovered. Face it, sir; Rose had to die in that fire."

Randy looked at the papers cautiously. "Fine, so then maybe you should start looking into this lady's past and see if she had any friends who might want to finish what she started."

The detective nodded. "Already on it. We will find out who did this and why."

The two men said they're good byes and Randy watched as the detective drove away. He walked upstairs and decided to wake up Alanna so she could eat and dress before Cody and Ted arrived.

As he approached Alanna's room, he heard her already awake and stirring.

"Hey, baby. Uncle Cody and Teddy are gonna come stay with you while I go pick up Uncle John. Let's go take a bath and get you dressed, OK?"

Alanna smiled slowly and nodded. They turned and walked into her bathroom and Randy turned on the faucet just as the phone rang.

"Al, just sit there while I get the phone."

He ran to his bedroom and picked up the phone, quickly walking back towards Alanna.

"Hello?"

"Hey, we're on my way over. I'm gonna pick up food first. Sounds good?"

Randy smiled when he heard Cody's tired voice and nodded. He felt more blessed than ever to have such good friends in his life.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few."

Randy turned off the phone and sat on the edge of the tub and to sure Alanna was taking a good bath. The phone rang in his hand again.

"Hello?"

Silence was his answer.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Jackass." Randy hung up the phone as Alanna giggled. He helped her out of the tub, wrapped her in a towel and walked into her room.

"What are we gonna wear, Al? Princess pj's?"

Randy picked out a pair of pink pajamas Sam bought her before she went on her honeymoon and helped Alanna into them.

The phone rang again.

"Damn, this phone is like grand central station today. Hello?"

No answer.

"OK, this is annoying. Get a life."

"You're such a good dad, Randy."

Randy frowned and looked at the phone. He turned away from his daughter and walked over to the door.

"What?"

"You're so sweet. Bathing your little girl and dressing her in those adorable pajamas. Well, I guess you have to take the place of Sam now, so really you have to be twice as good. So sad about Sam. She was a good girl. I hated to kill her."

Randy gasped and moved over to the window. "Who the hell is this?"

The voice on the other end laughed.

"Your worst nightmare, sweetheart."

The phone went dead.

* * *

"Daddy, what are you doing?"

Randy grabbed Alanna off the bed and ran to his bedroom. He ran to his window to shut the drapes. He ran out of the room and down the stairs in record time. He checked the doors and locked them all carefully.

"Daddy, why are we running?'

Randy sat her down on the sofa. "Stay there, Al. Don't move."

He ran over to the large bay windows and closed the blinds. He stopped and took a deep breath.

"OK, everyone is OK. No one can see inside now and the doors are locked. It's all OK."

The sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house causing him to jump.

"I'll get it!"

Alanna took of running in the direction of the front door and Randy ran after her.

"Al, do not open the door! Wait for me!"

Alanna paused with her hand on the knob. "OK, but I know its Uncle Cody and Teddy."

"How do you know, Alanna? You're not psychic. You have to wait for me to answer the door. Don't run and open it without me ever, understand?"

Randy looked at Alanna as he said his lecture with a finger wagging in his daughter's face. He almost laughed at his daughter's bewildered expression, but remembered the phone call instantly.

"Hey, it's us. Let me in"

"I told you it was them, Daddy." Alanna flung open the door and Randy pulled Cody and Ted in. He slammed the door and locked it securely. Cody and Ted looked at him and back at each other.

"You two go to the kitchen." He said pointing at the men.

"You go to the living room and watch TV. I gotta talk to Cody and Ted alone." He said pointing to Alanna.

They watched Alanna sulk off into the room and heard her turn on the TV.

"Randy, what is the problem?" Ted said as Randy dragged him into the kitchen. He noticed Randy's face was pale and his eyes were wide. Cody walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Randy, will you relax and talk to me."

Randy nodded and said, "I just got another phone call. They could see us, guys. They could see me and Al and knew what we were doing. They admitted to killing Sam."

Cody gasped. "What? Are you serious?"

Randy laughed. "I would not lie about this."

Ted sat on a stool and shook his head. "You keep saying 'they'. Was it a man or a woman? Did you call the detective?"

Randy shook his head. "It sounded like a machine. I just freaked out and ran and closed all the windows and doors. I didn't know what to do. Maybe we should wait for John to come home."

Cody shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you want, Randy. You go get Johnny now. We'll be fine."

Randy nodded and grabbed his car keys of the counter. He called out a good bye to Alanna and got in his car.

Randy walked into the back entrance of the hospital dodging the reporters throwing cameras in his face. He walked over to the elevators and rode up to the 5th floor and down the corridor to John's room.

"Hey, gorgeous, help me get the hell dressed so we can go home."

Randy smiled as he looked at John who came out of the bathroom with his shirt undone.

"Well, that is if I have a home. Last I heard there was a huge hole in my home."

Randy laughed and moved over to him. He gave him a kiss on the cheek and quickly buttoned his shirt for him. "You know that my home is your home, so don't act like you're homeless. Your house should be done soon enough, though, if you're that anxious to leave us."

John smiled and pulled Randy in close for a longer kiss. He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't with you last night, Ran. You had to go through saying good bye to Sammy alone."

Randy shrugged. "I got through it. I had no choice. Al needs me to be strong for her."

John sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "God, I was so scared when I saw that car coming towards her, Randy. I just pulled her out of the way and thought I was gone, but better me than her."

Randy looked at him in the eye and nodded. "I love you so much, John. For what you did for my daughter, I'll love you forever."

He pulled him into another tight hug and squeezed him tight. "Come on. Let's go home."

**A/N: Review guys! Show me you're interested or I'll guess I'll just stop...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and alerts! I'm on an updating spree!**

"Codes,"

Cody looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen where Ted stood with his cell phone in his hand. He stood up from the sofa where he sat with Alanna and walked towards him.

"Yes, my love,"

Ted frowned and leaned on the counter. "I just got a call from the alarm company. Something tripped our alarm but security found no one on the premises."

Cody also frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "That's weird."

Ted nodded and looked over at Alanna to make sure she was still engrossed in her television show.

"I know. Still, I think I should go home and check things out. This Rose crap makes me extra anxious."

Cody shook his head and looked at the food Ted was laying out on the counter. "I know, babe, me too, but I'll go. You got a whole food system going on here that I would just ruin."

He smiled as Ted nodded his head in agreement and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Al, I'll be back in time to finish that movie with you, princess!"

Cody yelled over his shoulder as he walked out of the house and towards his car. About 15 minutes later he pulled into his and Ted's driveway after stopping to speak with the security guard stationed a few feet away. The guard confirmed what Ted said of no intruders being seen.

Cody sighed and rested his head on his hands and just sat there for a while. He felt exhausted, but he knew there would be no time for rest. He groaned and got out of the car. As he walked to the house he stuck his hand in his mailbox and found it empty.

"No one loves us."

He opened his door and walked into the quiet home. Throwing the keys on top of the hall table he walked around to check the doors and windows. Ten minutes later as he finished his inspection the house phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on? You're not answering your cell."

Cody felt in his side pocket and realized his phone was missing. "I must have left it in the car. Everything is fine, babe. Don't worry so much."

Cody heard Ted sigh on his end.

"I'm always gonna worry about you. Come back."

Cody smiled. "On my way."

He placed the phone back in its base and walked back to the door. As he approached his car, Steve, the security guard drove up.

"Mr. Runnels, wait! I have an urgent package for you."

Cody moved away from the car and over to Steve. "Thanks, Steve."

He waved as the guard drove off and placed the package on the hood of his car. It was a plain brown box and had no return address. He often received things from fans who found out his exact address but this one seemed odd. He slowly ripped off the brown packaging paper and lifted the lid. Without warning an army of cockroaches the size of his index finger flew at his face and began to crawl quickly out of the box.

"Holy shit!" Cody yelled and backed away from the box inadvertently knocking it to the floor. He watched as the roaches began crawling towards him and all around his car. He stomped on a few before jumping in his car and speeding down the road. Minutes later he pulled into Randy and John's driveway and ran through the front door.

"Teddy, help,"

Ted came out of the kitchen looked at his hysterical boyfriend. "Cody, what the hell is wrong with you? You're gonna scare, Alanna!"

Cody scratched at his skin desperately and shook out his shirt. "The bugs are crawling on me! Get them off!"

Ted walked over to Cody and pulled his hands down. "What bugs, baby? Stop clawing at yourself!"

Cody took a deep breath and pulled his hands away from Ted. He walked in the kitchen and sat on a stool around the kitchen island.

"Some asshole sent me a box full of cockroaches the size of my foot! They spilled all over the place in our driveway!"

Ted's mouth opened in shock. "What? Who the hell would do that?"

"I don't know, Ted! God, can we stop talking about this? I'm all itchy."

Ted laughed. He looked over at Cody and made sure he had nothing on him before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"You're fine now, baby. I guess we're gonna have to call an exterminator before we go back home if you left all those bugs crawling around."

Cody shuddered. "Please, can't we just move? I never wanna see that house again."

Ted laughed and went to get a phone book. He called a local exterminator and cleaning service who promised to come over in an hour.

"I'm gonna go meet them at the house. The food is all set. You just stay here and recover with Alanna and a movie. Randy and John should be home soon."

"What's wrong, Uncle Cody? Why were you yelling?"

Cody snapped out of his daze and smiled at Alanna. He picked her up and walked back to the living room with her.

"Nothing's wrong, princess. Uncle Cody was just being silly."

Alanna giggled. "Where's Uncle Teddy?"

"He had to go home for a few minutes but he'll be right back. Daddy and Uncle John will be here soon, too."

Alanna nodded and sat beside Cody as they focused on the movie playing on the television.

Half and hour later he felt a tingling in his pocket and jumped up. "Hey, babe, are all the bugs gone?"

Ted laughed on the other end and said, "Almost. You know there was a letter in the box of bugs. The exterminator found it. I'll bring it to you."

Cody frowned. "A letter? Who would put a letter in that box? Open it and read it now."

Over in his front yard, Ted balanced the cell phone on his shoulder as he opened the letter. He frowned as his eyes scanned the words.

"Oh my God, this is sick."

"What? What is it?" Cody's voice rose with apprehension and confusion.

Ted shook his head. "This must be another one of those stupid letters. Don't worry, babe, it doesn't matter what it says. I'm gonna throw it out."

"No way! Don't you dare! Read it to me now."

Ted took a deep breath and read the words on the paper, "The last time I knocked you out I only made a dent. When I get you this time, you'll never see the light of day again."

**A/N: Review and I'll continue my fast updating!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Update again, yay! I'm so depressed over Randy's beating on RAW and my writer's block for my other story, "Business of a Family." While I wait for inspiration, I'm working on this story, which I love! **

"Ah, home sweet home. I'm so glad to be out of that hospital room."

Randy turned off the car and looked at John with a smile. He opened the car door quickly and ran to the other end to help John out.

"Baby, that's sweet and I appreciate it, but I really don't need help getting out of the car."

Randy laughed. "I know. It's just that you still look a little pale and it's normal for me to want to take care of the man I love."

Randy nodded and followed him in the house holding on to John's hand tightly. He was thrilled to be home with the love of his life safe and sound and was looking forward to dinner with his family. It would distract his mind from the accident and the fact he had a funeral to plan. Dinners with his friends were a normal occurrence since they all lived within a 5 mile radius, but since the situation with Rose, they were more meaningful. After coming so close to their mortality, they appreciated life more and appreciated the important moments and events in their lives. A dinner that was just a dinner had now become an occasion for all of them to be together as the family they had chosen to be. This dinner, however, would be different, Randy noticed. The mood in the house was thick with fear and apprehension. He led John into the kitchen where Ted and Cody sat on stools leaning on the island in the middle of the room. They seemed to be staring at a piece of paper that lay on the counter top. Only Alanna, who sat contently on the counter smiled when they entered.

"Daddy's back with Uncle Johnny!" She leaped up and jumped into John's waiting arms.

"Hey, princess, I'm so happy to see you!"

Randy smiled at them but quickly turned his attention to everyone else who sat dazed. "What's going on, guys?"

"Yeah, is anyone else gonna welcome me back!" said John looking around, "You look like someone died!"

He cleared his throat and mumbled in a low voice, "Did anyone die, boys?"

Cody shook his head and smiled. He stood up and gave John a hug and Ted followed.

"Daddy, Uncle Teddy made dinner for us!"

Randy frowned and said, "That's great, baby. Why don't you go and wash up so we could eat?"

Alanna frowned. "But my hands aren't dirty, Daddy."

Randy bent to look her in the eye. "Alanna, please don't argue with me. Be a good girl, baby, and go."

Alanna sighed and nodded her head. She turned and sulked out of the room.

"OK, now, what's really going on?"

Ted took the letter of the counter and handed it to Randy. John positioned himself on Randy's side and they read the letter together.

"Oh my God, did this come to the house?" asked Randy.

"Yeah, our house. Along with a lot of other things." said Cody.

John looked at everyone in shock. "Wow, you guys know how to mess up a homecoming."

Cody flipped him off and John laughed. He took the letter from Randy's hand and grimaced.

"What the hell is all this brown stuff on it?"

Cody laughed. "Bug poop."

John set the letter back on the counter top and quickly walked to the sink to wash his hands as Ted clarified the situation by telling Randy and John of Cody's package and the surprise inside.

"This letter is not a joke, guys. We have to show it to Detective Rosen. He's still working on Sam's case, but I update him on our mail and phone calls. He's very interested in them. I need to tell him about my crazy phone call anyway."

Randy stood up and put the letter in a Ziploc bag.

"That's good, Ran. Preserve the bug poop!" said Ted. He laughed loudly at his joke then jumped off the chair.

"Let's forget this now and eat, please." He walked to the table and began to lay plates down. John nodded and grabbed some silverware.

"Ran, you better go get Al. I think she forgot the way back down."

Randy looked around the kitchen and noticed that his daughter had been gone for a long time. He quickly walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Alanna, let's go eat. Dinner is on the table."

He walked down the hallway and found her looking out of the bay window just outside of Randy's bedroom. "Al, don't you hear me? Let's go eat."

Alanna looked at Randy and smiled.

"Look, Daddy, the girl in that house was waving at me! Come look!"

Randy bent next to her and looked at the house across from them. He remembered his phone call and how the caller seemed to know exactly what they were doing and what they were wearing.

"_You're so sweet. Bathing your little girl and dressing her in those adorable pajamas."_

It seemed someone who lived across the street from you might have a good view into your home.

"I don't even know the neighbors."

"What?"

Randy looked at his daughter and realized he had spoken out loud. He shook his head and smiled quickly.

"Nothing. It was nice of her to wave."

Alanna nodded and looked back outside. The shades were drawn all the way down in the other house and the street before them had grown dark in a matter of moments.

"It's getting late, baby. Let's go eat."

Alanna kept looking at the street. "She left when you came, Daddy. I didn't get to say bye."

Randy stared at his daughter and said, "It's OK. Maybe tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, what?"

Randy jumped at the sound of John's voice. He quickly turned and laughed. "I'm so jumpy lately."

"The food's getting cold."

Randy nodded and took Alanna by the hand.

"Hey, wait a minute. Al, go down and we'll be down in a minute. Uncle Cody has your food ready." said John

Alanna nodded and walked away.

Randy looked back out the window and then at John. "Do you know who lives there?"

John shrugged. "I don't know any of my neighbors. I guess I'm not as friendly as everyone thinks."

"Yeah, me neither, but at least everyone knows I'm not friendly. Most people think I'm an asshole."

John laughed but quickly got serious. "Hey, don't talk about my baby like that. Come on, let's go eat and forget the neighbors."

He took Randy's hand and they walked to dinner.

About 5 hours later, after dinner was over and Cody and Ted were gone, the house was quiet as Randy laid Alanna into bed. He pulled the covers around her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He moved towards her window and checked the lock on it before securely closing the drapes. He was hoping everyone would get a full night's sleep and a day of peace before he had to start dealing with Sam's final wishes.

Walking down into the living room, he yawned loudly as he checked the doors, windows and set the alarm system. He could hear John cleaning up in the kitchen and he walked over to help him.

"Hey, you need any help?"

John smirked as he dried the last plate. "Good timing. I just finished, lazy ass."

Randy laughed and shrugged. "I hate doing dishes."

John smiled and kissed him softly. The couple stood with their arms wrapped around each other and just looked into each other's eyes.

"You're lucky you're cute. You can get away with that."

Randy took his hand and turned off the lights, pulling John with him. "Let's go to bed."

They walked up the stairs and into Randy's bedroom where they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

At 3:45am Randy opened his eyes. Something had woken him from a sound sleep. He felt John's arm draped over his waist and could hear his steady breathing. He listened intently to see if he could hear the noise that woke him up. After a few minutes he decided to try to get back to sleep and he pulled his body closer to John's. Just as he was dozing off the phone rang loudly. He groaned and turned over to answer it.

"What?"

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Randy shot up and sat in bed fully alert. "Who is this?"

The voice giggled.

"The fire department!" It stopped and giggled again. "Well, maybe not. I'm more like the opposite of the fire department."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Randy felt his chest tighten with nervousness as he heard the now familiar voice talking. "You burn down my house; I burn down one of yours!"

The call ended and Randy dropped the phone back on the bed. "John, wake up. The house is on fire."

He shook John who quickly woke up.

"What? The house isn't on fire. The alarm would ring."

Randy took a deep breath and nodded. He quickly ran to check on Alanna and saw her sleeping safe and sound in her bed. When he returned to his bed, John was looking at him with a confused look.

"I got another call. This time they threatened to set fire to my house."

John smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, baby. I know you hate those calls, but as you can see it was crap. The house is not on fire."

He pulled Randy into bed and kissed his forehead. Randy laid his head on John's chest and he felt John stroke his hair gently. The tender moment suddenly ended when sirens blared through the streets and red lights started flashing in their bedroom. Randy quickly got up and looked out the window. The street was full of fire engines and police cars spraying down a house. To his horror, the house that was in full blaze now, was John's. He turned over to look at John.

"My house isn't on fire, but yours is."

**A/N: Reviews, please! Oh, and GO YANKEES!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here we go with another one! **

An hour later after the blaze in John's house had finally fizzled, he and Randy stood on the front lawn looking up at the remains of the house. It had burned down completely and only a shell of a home stood before them.

Randy looked over at John who had a look of disbelief on his face. He balanced a sleeping Alanna on one arm and put the other around John's shoulder. He turned when he heard a car pull up carrying Cody and Ted. Their mouths dropped open at the sight before them and they walked slowly to join John and Randy.

"Oh my God, how did this happen?" Cody's eyes widened at the scene before him as Ted looked at John sympathetically.

Everyone stood in silence just staring and thinking their own thoughts. No one could say anything to comfort John. It was not a loss of a family member or friend, but losing your home could still be traumatic. John loved his home and filled it with things from his trips around the world. He made it into a warm and loving place where everyone who entered it felt like family and like they'd stepped into their own home. Everyone thought of all he lost as they stared up at the frame that was still smoking.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm going to need some information here, guys."

They all turned to see Detective Rosen looking at them. John nodded and walked over to the edge of the road with him. They started talking quietly while back on the lawn the other men started their own conversation.

"Randy, what the hell happened here? I mean, I know it's a fire, but how did it start?" said Ted in a low voice.

"I tell you those damn calls are not a joke, guys. They're real, not pranks. Every time I get a call either something happens or I get some information about the nut job doing this. Maybe that dumbass Detective will finally believe me. I swear, he doesn't think this is connected." replied Randy.

Ted nodded and looked at Cody. "Well then if this is real, we have to watch Cody a little closer because if that letter he got was real, then this situation is gonna get worse."

Cody's eyes opened wide and he looked at Ted. "What the hell did you say that for, Teddy? I'm freaked out as it is. As strong as I am, it doesn't seem to faze this person."

Randy patted Cody's shoulder and shook his head at him. "Don't worry, Codes. Look we're all gonna stick together until this is resolved. No one is gonna get hurt."

Everyone nodded and got quiet as John and the Detective approached.

"Randy, tell me some about this phone call you received."

Randy handed Alanna over to Ted and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I know anything more than what John told you. The phone came at about 3:45 am and whoever it was told me one of our homes was on fire."

Detective Rosen nodded. "Were you able to recognize the voice this time?"

"Yeah, despite its machine effect, it has to be a woman. The giggling between threats could not be from a man."

"Tell me about this letter you received, Cody." The detective looked over at Cody who looked annoyed.

"Um, it came in a box of bugs. Big roaches. It was really gross and I just dropped it and ran. Anyway, the letter was found later by an exterminator and Ted bought it to me. You saw what it says."

Detective Rosen nodded and looked at the other men. "So, besides Randy, John and Cody, Ted, you have received no threatening letters or phone calls. Am I correct?"

Ted nodded.

"That's good. We may have a break there. If this is all related to Rose, she will want to target every one of you. If she still hasn't gotten to you, Ted, we may catch her when she attempts to."

Ted looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're using me as a guinea pig?"

The detective smiled and shook his head. "No, please don't misunderstand. We're not going to put you in any danger. We're just trying to determine if this truly is all connected to Rose."

Ted shrugged but still nodded his OK.

"Well, if this is all Rose, then wouldn't she go after Lily, Mark, and Angel, too?" asked Cody.

The detective nodded. "Don't worry. We are aware of everyone involved besides you six and there already is police protection on hand for Lily's family. The rest of you will all be assigned some by this afternoon."

Everyone nodded and said goodbye to the detective when he was called away.

"I guess I should go with the fire chief and see what happens now."

John walked away to greet the fire chief and the remaining friends watched him walk around the grounds with a dejected look.

"I better go get Alanna back into a real bed. You guys are welcome to come." said Randy taking his daughter back from Ted.

Everyone nodded and followed him back down the street.

* * *

At 10:15 am Randy felt a thud and his eyes snapped open.

"Hi, Daddy! It's time to wake up."

Randy groaned and smiled. He sat up in the bed and looked at his daughter. "I wish I had half your energy, Al. I feel like an old man."

Alanna laughed an identical laugh to her mother's and shook her head.

"You're not old, Daddy. Old people have stuff here." She said touching Randy's eyes and mouth.

Randy smiled and kissed his daughter's hand. "Those are called wrinkles and by the end of all this I may have tons."

Alanna frowned but Randy picked her up before she could question him further.

"Let me take a quick shower and how about we all go to breakfast. I think your uncles are still here."

Alanna nodded and walked over to the window. Randy raised his eyebrows and pulled her away. He knew her daughter was looking for the figure that waved at her the day before.

"Alanna, you have to go clean up, too. Go now and look out of the window later."

An hour later Randy walked into his kitchen dressed for the day. He saw a note on the refrigerator and picked it up.

"_Hey, babe, it's me! I came in and saw you sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to wake you. I cleaned up and went to the police station to fill out more crap. The boys all left with me, but we're gonna meet up again tonight here at home. I'll see you soon. _

_Love you, John"_

Randy smiled and opened the fridge door. He saw it mostly empty except for a plate of brownies they ordered for desert last night but didn't eat. He got an idea and pulled the plate out. He set it on the counter top and opened a cupboard door to reveal a small basket Sam had left the last time she bought them her home baked cookies. He pulled it out and arranged the brownies nicely in it and called out to Alanna.

"Hey, princess, are you ready?"

Alanna nodded and pulled on her jacket before reaching for Randy's hand.

"Alanna, we're gonna take these brownies to our neighbor; the one that waved at you across the street. It was really nice and I want you to tell me who it was."

Alanna nodded happily and they walked out of the door and across the street. Randy's heart raced with anticipation as he rang the strange doorbell. After a few moments an elderly man came to the door.

"Can I help you?"

Randy cleared his throat and held out the basket. "Hi, sir, how are you? My name is Randy Orton and this is my daughter, Alanna. We decided to come meet you especially after you were so nice to us. Well, not you exactly, but maybe your daughter or granddaughter. She waved at my daughter a couple of times from your upstairs window. It looks into my upper floor."

Randy stopped when he realized he was rambling and the man was staring at him.

"Well, thank you, son. It was kind of you, but I'm not sure who your little girl there saw in my window. I don't have any girls living here. I live here all alone."

Randy looked down at Alanna who looked up at him. "Oh, well maybe it was someone visiting yesterday."

The man shook his head and leaned on the door.

"Nope, I was gone all day yesterday. As a matter of fact, I just got home no more than 15 minutes ago and haven't eaten a thing. I hope you'll still let me keep these brownies."

Randy laughed and nodded. "Of course, well then I guess I'll go now. It was nice to meet you anyway. If you need anything, feel free to call on me."

He shook the old man's house and walked back across the street to his car when he felt Alanna shake his hand.

"Daddy, I saw a girl wave at me, but the old man said he lived alone. Then who was it, Daddy?"

Randy shook his head.

"I have no idea. I thought I would figure something out by knocking on that door, but things just get more confusing."

**A/N: Review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Let's keep up the updating! This one is long!**

"God, I am so exhausted."

Ted mumbled to himself as he drove down the street back to his house. He and Cody had returned home from Randy and John's looking for food and found none. After everything that had happened in the past couple of days, the care of their house had become non existent. Cody stayed home to clean up while Ted volunteered to go to their neighborhood market. The best part of having a home in Randy's small town was that for the most part, they were able to live a normal life without fans attacking them constantly like in a big city.

After a quick trip to the market, he had loaded the car with food and was driving home quickly. As he stood waiting for a red light to change, his cell phone rang and vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw Home on the screen.

"Hey, baby, what's up?"

"You'll never believe it. Despite the fact his house just burned to the ground and his boyfriend just lost his ex-wife, John has arranged a press conference for us in an hour outside of his house or should I say his smoking rubble. Can you come pick me up, baby? I honestly don't think I could drive without falling asleep."

Ted groaned and shook his head in annoyance. John was the unofficial voice of the foursome and no one really had a problem with it until he decided something without speaking to everyone else about it.

"God, I am so hungry and I barely slept last night. Why now?"

Cody sighed loudly. "I don't know, Teddy, but just come. We'll eat a pack of cookies or something on the way."

Ted agreed and hung up. He turned the corner to go in the direction of his house and pulled into his driveway exactly 5 minutes later. He turned off the car and stepped out. He walked to the back and began to remove the shopping bags. Halfway through the unloading, a flyer he had left sitting on a bag flew across the street. Ted sighed and ran after the paper flying through the air and was about to cross the street when a car sped past him at about 90 miles per hour. He reflexes stopped him in his tracks and his momentum knocked him onto the ground as the car flew by and crashed into another parked vehicle where it caught fire almost instantly. He stared at the road before him and felt his heart stop for a minute when he realized only a few seconds stopped him from being in the path of that oncoming car. The noise of the car crash and the sight of the fire sent people running out of their homes and into the streets to see the commotion. As Ted stood looking at the street in shock he saw Cody run out of the house with his mouth open.

"Holy crap, what the hell happened? Teddy, are you OK, baby?"

Ted sat on the ground and opened his mouth but no sounds came out. Cody knelt beside him and took his face in his hands. Ted's eyes met Cody's worried ones.

"Baby, please talk to me. Are you OK?"

Ted nodded. "I think so. I was coming to pick you up and I was chasing a paper. Couple more minutes and I would have been in the road and run over."

Cody frowned and looked at him closely. "What are you talking about, Teddy? Why were you coming to pick me up?"

Ted looked at him and frowned back. "You called me and told me to. To go to the press conference, remember?"

Cody shook his head. "What press conference? Baby, I never called you. I've been cleaning since you left. I was waiting for you to come home with the groceries…"

As Ted stared at Cody in disbelief at what he said, someone in the crowd called out.

"Look, someone's getting out of the car!"

The two men turned to stare as a bloody man stepped out of the vehicle. He ran away from the fiery remains of the car and stumbled near the crowd.

"Is there help on the way?"

"We need to help the man!"

"Call the police!"

Ted stood up and turned away from the crowd as they continued to yell and murmur. He felt Cody put his arm around his shoulder and he felt a little more at ease. They moved away from the hysterics and stood beside Ted's car. The man lay on the grass covered in blood. Despite his visible injuries, he turned toward the crowd of people.

"Ted DiBiase! Are you here, DiBiase? This was all for you! I was sent to get rid of you!"

Ted's eyes widened as the man continued his rant. He stood behind Cody and walked quickly towards their house. He shook his head and tried to block from his ears what the man was saying.

Cody watched him go and desperately wanted to follow him but he remained riveted by the moment and continued to watch the man coughing and sputtering.

"You're all gonna die! Even if I didn't get you someone will! She's not gonna stop until you're all dead!"

He coughed and heaved one more time. When he opened his mouth to scream out again, no sound came out and he lay still. Cody looked at him closely and it was obvious to see the man had died. He turned quickly and began to walk towards his house, when his elderly neighbor stopped him.

"Cody, dear, isn't the Ted that crazy man was talking about your friend that lives here with you?"

Cody shook his head at the elderly lady and said, "I can't talk now, Mrs. Simmons. Please excuse me."

He walked into the house and locked the door behind him. "Ted, where are you? We need to talk about this, baby."

He spotted Ted sitting on a lounge chair with his head in his hands. Cody moved over to him and pulled him into a hug. He placed a kiss on his forehead and whispered in his ear while squeezing him tightly.

"It's OK, Teddy, don't worry. The guy died. He can't hurt you now."

* * *

"Just follow her wishes, please, and set it all up. Send me the bill and information so I can pass it on to her family."

Randy sighed as he hung up the phone. Amidst all the chaos of his life, he had to plan Sam's funeral. Her parents were so devastated and completely incapable of doing it. Randy felt a responsibility to help despite having being divorced from Sam. She would always be one of the most important people in his life and the mother of his child. The stress of it all was wearing on him, though.

He looked over at John who smiled and turned his attention back to the chicken he was preparing.

"You OK, baby?"

Randy nodded and sat to watch John cook. He noticed every few minutes John would look out the backyard door towards the direction of where his house once stood.

"Baby, I know this is still very hard on you. Every time we look out the window, we see what's left of your house. I'm sorry I can't fix it or do anything to make you feel better."

John looked up and smiled a bigger smile this time. "Just being there for me is making me feel better, Ran. I love you for it. I just need some time to get over it myself, but I'm OK here. You and Alanna make it better."

Randy smiled and went over to kiss him. He embraced him and held him tight as he kissed the side of his neck and the curve of his jaw line. He wanted to let John know he was safe and everything was going to be OK. At the same time he wanted to reassure himself of the same thing.

"OK, I'm gonna let you go now only because you're about to let our chicken burn."

John laughed and went back to preparing the food. "I am so sick of chicken. I swear it's the only thing Alanna will eat lately."

Randy grimaced and nodded. "I know but as long as she's eating, I don't care. I'm scared of how she's going to react when she sees her mom in the funeral."

John looked over at him. "I know. We'll be there for her and help her. She's a strong little girl, baby."

Randy looked at him and nodded. He turned back to look out the window and reached in his pocket for a cigarette. He stepped outside into the back yard to light it and looked up to see his daughter at the window. Alanna looked down and waved happily at her father then pointed at something. Randy looked at his daughter and tried to understand her and what she was pointing to. He shook his head and shrugged trying to tell his daughter he didn't understand when he saw Alanna move away from the window. A few seconds later, John stuck his head outside.

"Baby, Al is screaming at me to tell you to look at the house across the street. Hurry up and finish that so we can eat."

John disappeared back into the house and Randy turned to look at the old man's house just in time to see a woman disappear behind a curtain. He gasped and ran back into the house with his cigarette still in his hand.

"Oh my God, did you see her?"

John looked at him and pointed at the door. "No way, Randy. As long as I am living in this house you will not smoke that crap so take it back outside and throw it out."

Randy sighed and opened the patio door. He threw out the cigarette and held out his hands to John.

"It's gone. Are you happy now?"

John smiled and nodded. "Now, what were you screaming about? Who should I have seen?"

Randy pointed at the house across the street. "The lady who keeps waving at Alanna. She lives over there, but when Al and I went to see her, an old man answered the door and said no woman lives there. For awhile I thought Al was seeing things, but I just saw her, John. Why would that old man lie to me?"

John looked at Randy strangely. "Honey, I don't know why the old man would lie to you, but I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose. Maybe he's embarrassed because the chic is his wife and he's too old for her. Maybe he thinks people would gossip."

Randy laughed mockingly. "Yeah, then if he's so worried about the gossip, he should tell his chic to stop waving out the damn window!"

John shrugged and set three plates out on the table. "I don't know, Ran. Just stop obsessing enough so we could have a nice relaxed dinner with no problems."

Randy nodded. He bit his lip in concentration as he wondered what the secret the neighbors hid.

"Hi, Daddy! Did you see the lady?"

He turned and nodded towards Alanna. "Yeah, baby, I did. Let's not talk about it for now. Let's just eat the yummy food Uncle Johnny made for us."

Alanna slid into her chair and John served her. They all sat down to eat and only chewing was heard for minutes.

John cleared his throat. "So, do we have any plans for the weekend? It's going to be a good one with two very warm days."

Alanna and Randy gave simultaneous shrugs and John groaned on the inside. Randy's mood swings were legendary and it appeared Alanna had inherited yet another trait of her father's. He decided to give conversation one more try.

"Maybe we can go into the city and visit Angel. How about that, Al?"

Both father and daughter stopped eating and looked up. Randy quickly shook his head at John but Alanna quickly shouted, "No, Uncle John! I never wanna see Angel! He's bad! Very bad!"

Alanna quickly stood up and ran out of the room.

"Great. This is all I need now." moaned Randy pushing his plate aside.

John sat frozen in his chair and asked, "What the hell just happened?"

"Nothing, John. You did nothing. It's just that Alanna and Angel had an argument the day you had your accident and Alanna is still pissed about it. She doesn't want to see him or even hear his name mentioned."

John stood up and threw his hands up in the air. "Well, you could have told me, Ran! Now Alanna is pissed at me." He looked at Randy who just sat there.

"What was the argument about?"

Randy stood up and grabbed the plates. He threw the food in the trash and the plates in the sink. "Angel told Al that I was going to die because his grandma and her friend were going to kill me. Obviously, Al got pissed and she's still not over it."

John's eyes opened in surprise. "Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me?"

Randy looked at John with a glare. "Oh, I don't know, John! Maybe because you were almost killed by a car like 5 minutes later. Then, later in the day I forgot because I had to tell my 4 year old daughter her mother died. Then, I forgot to tell you because every time I sit down I get a phone call from our anonymous killer. Then, I forgot to tell you because our best friend was busy getting attacked by bugs with a threatening letter while some psycho woman, who has never been seen in person, keeps trying to make contact with my kid. Oh, and last it was because your house was being set on fire!"

Randy stared at John and took a deep breath. "Excuse me for forgetting, but I have had a lot on my mind!"

He dropped the last plate and walked out of the kitchen. He walked upstairs and headed for Alanna's room. Inside he found her sitting on the floor eating mints.

"Hey, princess. Why are you eating my mints, brat?" He smiled and sat beside her and pulled her in his lap.

"I'm hungry and this is all I found."

Randy nodded. "Well, yeah, this isn't a kitchen; I don't like food up here. Let's go finish our dinner."

Alanna shook her head anxiously. "No, Daddy, I don't wanna. Uncle John is gonna make me go see Angel and I don't wanna."

She tried to get up but Randy pulled her back in his lap. "Alanna, you know that's not true. None of the people who love you would make you do anything you don't want to. Uncle John didn't know you had an argument with Angel and that's why he thought you would want to visit him. You shouldn't have screamed at him and shouldn't be mad at him."

Alanna looked up at Randy and asked, "Really? I don't have to go?"

Randy smiled and shook his head. "No you don't, but maybe you should try to make up, baby. Try to be friends with Angel again. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said."

Alanna shook her head. "No, Daddy. He scared me. I don't like that."

Randy sighed. He picked up Alanna and they walked back downstairs where John was putting the remaining food in the refrigerator.

"No, John, take the food back out. Someone is still hungry and wants to talk to you."

John looked up and Alanna walked over and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry I screamed at you, Uncle Johnny, but I don't wanna see Angel. Can I eat my chicken now?"

John laughed and nodded. He sat Alanna down and served her more food as Randy looked on. He smiled at the sight of them laughing together. He walked out of the kitchen and out the back door where he again began to stare at the house across the street. He was so engrossed that he didn't hear the door open and John come out with him.

"Ran, are you gonna eat, too?"

He looked up and shook his head. "I'm not hungry, but thanks."

John pulled him over to the patio chairs and they sat down. "Stop staring at that house. You're freaking me out."

Randy looked over at John and crossed his arms across his chest. He lowered his eyes and mumbled quickly, "I think I snapped at you earlier. If I did, I'm sorry."

John looked over at him and laughed. "You're such an ass! You hate to apologize."

Randy shrugged and refused to meet his eyes.

"Don't worry, you don't have to apologize. I know you didn't mean anything you said. You're stressed and so are we all. It's cool." John reached over and took Randy's hand. He kissed it and held on to it tightly.

"I am stressed but I can't use you as a punching bag. I had forgotten about the Al and Angel incident anyway. It was too weird to think about. I wish it was the only weird thing that had happened."

John nodded. "I know, baby, but hopefully, things will get better soon."

Alanna opened the patio door and came out with Randy's cell phone.

"Daddy, Uncle Cody is on the phone." She handed the phone to Randy.

"What's up, Codes?"

Cody's voice sounded as different from his own as Randy had ever heard it. The panic in it was obvious.

"Ran, you and John gotta come over quick. Something happened to Teddy and I can't help him. He's scaring me."

Randy stood up quickly. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

He hung up and looked over at John. "It's Ted. We gotta go."

John inhaled quickly and felt his heart begin to race. "What happened to him?"

Randy shook his head. "I don't know, but we gotta go."

**A/N: Review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Two for one night! Happy Friday to my awesome reviewers and alerters!**

Cody wandered around his house and sighed deeply. After the accident outside their home, Ted had sat silently without speaking a word. After so many prompts from Cody and no answer, he got nervous and called Randy and John. If anything, they could help him bring Ted back from wherever his mind had gone.

As he walked down the hall outside his and Ted's bedroom, he heard Ted snoring lightly. Cody sighed and prayed he would awake better. He looked out the window in the hallway and at the surrounding trees enclosing their place. He and Ted loved their home and the land surrounding it. While it was still close to Randy and John's house, he enjoyed the woodsy area that extended from their backyard as opposed to the older couple's home. The property was surrounded by thick trees and grassy areas. A small creek ran by the tree Cody was looking at. He moved the drapes aside and saw what looked like a dog drinking out of it. The dog looked black from all the filth caked on him and his bones were visible to anyone who looked at him. He frowned.

"Oh no, the poor doggie."

He turned away from the window and quickly walked out of the room. He looked in on Ted who was still fast asleep.

Cody ran quickly out of the house before the dog could take off and grabbed some rope out of the garage. He made a makeshift leash and cautiously approached the dog that was now splashing in the water. When he got close enough to it, the dog looked at him and instantly bared his teeth.

"Easy, doggie, I just wanna take care of you."

He took a step back and tried to approach from a different corner. The dog began to bark and foam at the mouth. The hairs on his back stood straight up and without any warning he jumped on Cody.

"Ouch, get the hell off of me you ungrateful mutt!"

The dog bit into Cody's arm and blood instantly began to seep out as he cried out in pain. A gunshot rang out through the air and the dog jumped off Cody and ran away into the forest. Cody lay on the ground clutching his arm and watching the blood fall to the ground. He was breathing heavily and was in searing pain, but couldn't seem to move.

"Hey, kid, you OK over there?"

He slowly turned his head to see an old man in overalls approaching him with a huge shot gun in his hand. His eyes opened in fear and he felt his heart begin to race.

"Kid, I'm talking to you! You dead or not?"

Cody shook his head and responded, "Who the hell are you? What are you doing on my property?"

The old man bent down and stared at Cody's arm. Cody pulled away but the man grabbed his good arm.

"I've been hunting that dog for a week. That rabies and disease infested mutt has already bit 4 other people in the area in the past couple of days. You need to get yourself to a doctor to get a tetanus shot and begin anti-rabies treatment immediately. Is this your house?"

Cody let the man help him sit up and watched as he pulled a rag out of his pocket and tied it around his wound. He nodded and looked up at his window.

"Yeah. I saw the dog from my window and wanted to help it. I didn't think it would attack me."

The man shook his head.

"Stupid boy. Never approach a wild dog. Get to the hospital, son." The old man released Cody's good arm and walked away into the woods.

Cody stared and held onto his arm tightly. He turned and walked back towards his house without even realizing the old man staring at him through the trees with a sick smile on his face.

* * *

John and Randy burst in through the doors of Cody and Ted's house. They had noticed the police cars and ambulances outside and both were in a panic as they entered.

An officer stopped them in the hallway. "Excuse me, you can't come in here."

"It's OK, I called them. They're my friends,"

Randy stepped around the officer and headed for Cody, who was sitting in a chair with an EMT inserting a huge needle into his arm.

"Son of a bitch, I never wanna see another dog again."

"Codes, what happened?" Randy knelt beside him and grasped his hand.

Cody shook his head as the EMT put away his supplies. "After I called you to help Teddy, I was attacked by a freaking dog! A rabies and God-knows-what else infected dog! Since I was alone and Ted is of no help to anyone right now, I had to call 911."

"Where is Ted?"

Cody shook his head again and his eyes filled with tears. "Upstairs with another EMT. He won't talk or snap out of this thing. I'm so scared for him, Randy."

Randy frowned and pulled Cody into his arms for a hug. He motioned John to go upstairs with Ted.

"Codes, tell me everything, please."

Cody nodded and proceeded to tell Randy everything that had happened from the phone call Ted received to the car accident and the driver's screams to his dog attack.

"How the hell did Ted get a call from you and it wasn't you?" asked Randy.

Cody shrugged. "I don't know, but he's so traumatized by this. I brought him in the house and sat him down and he hasn't moved. He's just staring off into space. He fell asleep for a bit but woke up the same."

* * *

Upstairs, John took a deep breath. He walked into the bedroom and found Ted sitting on the bed looking forward but at no specific person. John bent to look at Alanna, who was clutching his hand.

"Princess, go into the other bedroom and watch TV while I talk to Uncle Teddy and the doctor."

Alanna nodded worriedly but walked off. John made sure she was settled before walking over to Ted.

"Teddy, are you OK?"

Ted looked up at John but said nothing.

"Why isn't he answering me?"

John looked at the EMT, who shrugged. "We're gonna have to take him in for a psychiatric evaluation."

John sighed and nodded.

* * *

Hours later Randy, John and Alanna sat in the now familiar setting of the local Emergency Room in the hospital. They anxiously awaited news on their fellow friends.

Cody was being given a complete check up and getting his wound taken care of. Ted, who was in a worse condition, was currently being evaluated by the best psychiatrist in the hospital.

Alanna sat quietly on Randy's lap noticing the tension on everyone's face. She traced Randy's tattoos up and down his arms and looked at her father's face.

"Daddy, what's wrong? Why are we here again?"

Randy looked down at her and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry I have to bring you here again, baby. I know you don't like it, but we need to be here right now. Uncle Cody and Uncle Teddy got hurt and we're waiting to find out what's wrong."

Alanna nodded and mumbled, "Oh."

John looked over at them and caught the conversation. He saw the same drained look on both father and daughter. Just as he was to offer to take Alanna home, Cody came out of the exam room with his arm bandaged.

Randy and John quickly stood up to meet him. Cody smiled. "I'm fine, guys. Any word on Teddy?"

John shook his head. "We're still waiting."

Cody sighed and sat in one of the waiting room chairs. He smiled and took Alanna into his arms when he saw her worried look. John took the opportunity to approach Randy.

"Ran, let's take a walk. I want to get some coffee."

Randy nodded unenthusiastically and stood up. "Codes, do you want anything?"

"Coffee." He replied with a tired smile.

"Alanna, do you want something to eat?"

Alanna looked at her father. "Do they have chicken wings?"

Randy sighed and smiled despite the situation. "I'll try to find you some chicken wings. Be a good girl." He bent and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

John and Randy walked down to the hospital cafeteria silently. John looked over at Randy, who looked beyond exhausted. Just as he was about to speak, Randy's phone rang.

"Great, another call. I'm starting to hate the sound of this phone. Every time it rings its only bad news."

He answered it hesitantly.

"May I speak to Mr. Orton?"

"Yeah, this is him."

"Hi, Mr. Orton, it's Ms. Davis from Serenity Funeral Parlor. I have set up everything for Samantha's burial. How does 2 days from today sound?"

Randy groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's fine."

Randy thanked the lady and hung up. He sighed loudly and John stared at him.

"Please don't give me any more bad news."

Randy shook his head. "No, that was just the funeral home. Can you believe I actually forgot for a minute there that I had to deal with Sam's burial?"

John put an arm around him and patted his shoulder. He tried to give him a kiss on the forehead but Randy sighed again and pulled away.

Randy walked in front of John and into the hospital cafeteria. He stood before the menu and tried to find some food his daughter would like. He felt John walk up behind him and he didn't turn around.

"I'm gonna go get the coffees for the boys. I'll meet you in a few."

Randy nodded and continued reading the menu. He saw an order of chicken fingers with fries and ordered it for Alanna. He watched the man pack it up and quickly paid for it. When he went to get John he saw him leaving without him. He sped up and caught up with John in the hallway.

"Hey, you were gonna leave me. Thanks a lot." He said sarcastically.

John looked at him and shrugged. "Well, you don't seem to want to be around me. What else should I do?"

Randy looked at him and felt confusion. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but its not that I don't want you around me. I just feel stressed out and I can't handle it like you do. You're still so calm and it annoys me."

He laughed nervously and saw John's irritation grow. He saw a bench and sat down on it.

"I annoy you?"

Randy just looked at the ground and mumbled, "Sorry, John. I don't mean it,"

John looked at him and shrugged. He sat beside him and said, "Look, we're stressed. I know you're taking a big part of that because of Alanna. Maybe we should send her to your parents or my parents. You know she loves them and they love her, too."

He stopped when he saw Randy shaking his head.

"No way, John. I'm not shipping my kid off anywhere. I want her here with me every day where I know what she's doing and who's with her every minute of the day. I can't be without her for one second. I need to protect her."

John looked at him and nodded. "Fine, it was just an idea. I understand how you feel, but Randy we can't even take care of ourselves right now. Things keep happening to us and something already bad happened to her. Do you honestly think you can protect Alanna from whatever else may happen to her? The way things are going all you're going to do is get her hurt even more! If she does, it'll be your fault!"

Randy stared at him with a glare. He stood up and looked down at him. "I can't believe you just said that. I hate you so much right now that it's scaring me."

John's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to talk, but Randy wouldn't let him.

"We need to take a break. My house is still yours for whatever time you may need it, but try to stay out of my way. We still have to be friendly to each other for everyone's sake, but once this is all over, I think you should leave. I'm going to need a good amount of time away from you if I plan on staying in the same company as you."

Randy turned and walked away quickly leaving John to stare at his retreating back.

**A/N: Review, please. Will update soon! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So, my Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs and I'm sick and stuck at home, but I will turn these negatives into a positive! I gotta say, I love the reviews and messages sent to me. They inspire me so much because as much as I love to write and post here, I LOVE to read your stories, too! Anywho, here's the next one!**

When John returned to where his friends were waiting he saw only Cody.

"Where is everyone?"

Cody reached for his coffee and looked at John. "Dude, this is cold! Where were you? Randy got back like 20 minutes before you."

John looked confused but quickly said, "Oh, I went to the bathroom. Where is everyone?"

"Randy took Al to eat in the garden."

John nodded and sat quietly. He didn't want anyone to know what had just happened between him and Randy, but he couldn't hold back his emotions when he saw Randy come back in with Alanna.

"John, you OK? You look like you're gonna hurl any minute!"

He looked over at Cody, who had a frown on his face, and nodded unconvincingly. Cody stared at John a bit longer but decided to drop the subject. He turned and looked at Alanna.

"So, Al, how was the chicken?"

Alanna smiled and said, "Very yummy! I love chicken."

Cody laughed. "No kidding." He leaned back in his chair and looked back at John then back to Randy, who sat beside him and began to flip through a newspaper.

Alanna looked at the adults and immediately noticed the tension in the air. "What's wrong? Everyone looks sad and mean."

Randy looked at her and shook his head. "Nothing, baby, we just hate waiting for the doctors."

Alanna looked at him and sat quietly. She walked over to the garden doors and looked outside.

Cody cleared his throat and said, "So, anything interesting happen on the way to the cafeteria?"

John quickly lowered and shook his head but Randy stared right at him. He fixed John with his trademark glare; his eyes looking icier than usual. John tried to look back but had to lower his head at the intensity of the stare.

"Might as well tell you since everyone is gonna find out. John and I decided to cool it."

Cody's mouth dropped open in shock. He looked over at John, who looked devastated and back to Randy, who looked pissed. "Are you two serious? This is not the time to make this decision, guys. You're both under tons of stress and everyone is irritable. Whatever you said to each other was just in the heat of the moment. You guys don't mean it."

Randy laughed and continued looking at the paper. "Trust me, Codes. I meant everything I said."

Cody looked at John who just shook his head. The friends sat in silence.

A doctor came out of another doorway and approached them. "Mr. Runnels, I'm treating your friend Ted. Can you come with me?'

Cody looked at him and pointed to everyone. "We're all Teddy's family here, Doc. Can't you just tell me here? How is he?"

The doctor nodded and pulled up a chair in front of them. "We gave him a sedative and he's much calmer. After everything you told me that happened, his reaction was very normal. I have placed him on medication which will help him while he sleeps."

"But is he going to be OK when he wakes up?" asked Cody.

"We have to wait and see. I think he will respond well to the medication, but we just have to wait. Feel free to go home and get some rest. Ted will be out for a few more hours." The doctor smiled and walked away.

"I'm not leaving him." said Cody leaning back on the seat.

Everyone sat in silence for a few moments. Alanna came over and climbed on Randy's lap. His hard, carved in stone expression cracked as he smiled at his daughter. He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the head. Alanna laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Daddy, is everything OK?"

Randy whispered in his ear, "Everything is OK, baby. As long as you're safe nothing else matters."

Alanna smiled happily and remained in Randy's arms.

As the time passed, the friends all fell asleep in the waiting room chairs. Many hours later, a nurse came out and approached Cody.

"Sir, your friend is awake now and asking for you. You may come in now."

Cody jumped up and said, "Wake up, guys. Let's go see Teddy now."

The nurse quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but the child may not go in the hospital room and its only one visitor at a time."

Cody opened his mouth to protest but Randy quickly said, "It's OK. I'll stay out here with Al. Just make sure he's OK."

Cody ran in the room behind the nurse leaving John and Randy alone. Randy stood up with Alanna now asleep in his arms. He paced the hallway and rocked his daughter gently.

"Randy, we need to talk about this. You know I never meant to imply that you're not a great dad or you would ever put Al in harm's way."

Randy looked over at John and continued walking the hallway. He shook his head ruefully. "There's nothing to talk about, John. A horrible event bought us together and another has proved to be our downfall. Obviously we were not meant for each other. Couples are supposed to bond when times are hard. All we did was crumble under the pressure."

John stared at him. "You can't be serious, Randy. We had an argument. That's it. I'm sorry if I hurt you but an argument isn't the end of a relationship. If you don't understand that then maybe you're not mature enough to be in an adult relationship."

Randy stopped and stared at him. He looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe I'm not. All I know is I'm used to taking care of myself and my own. When you suggested I may not be able to care for my own daughter, you threw in my face every fear and doubt I have inside of me. I am the only parent she has now. Sam is gone, John and you know that. You know how terrified I am of everything that may hurt her. You're the only one who knows because I trusted you and told you. Yet you used that against me and tried to win an argument with it."

He stopped speaking and felt his throat clog with emotion. He shook his head and tried to push his emotions back. "When I trust someone with something, I don't expect them to use it against me. By your telling me to send Alanna away you told me you think I could get her hurt. That hurt me, John. I don't want people around me who hurt me. I've had enough of that in my life. Hell, I hurt myself enough times, too, but I'm a grown man now. If someone screws me, they're gone from my life."

John looked at him and asked, "You could cut me out of your life that easily? After everything we've been through?"

Randy looked at him, the glare back in his eyes. "In a heartbeat." He walked away and into the garden. He felt his eyes water but he refused to let the tears fall. Inside the hospital John sat in his chair and wondered how everything had gone so bad.

* * *

In Ted's hospital room, after many hugs and kisses, Cody sat talking to Ted. He looked pale and tired but had woken up completely fine. The medication and rest had bought Ted back from wherever his mind had retreated after the horrible shock a few hours before.

Cody lay beside Ted on his bed as Ted stared at his bandaged arm.

"How the hell did you get attacked by a dog on our property?"

Cody laughed. "It's not important, baby. All that matters is my arm is fine and you're fine." He sighed. "Now, we just have to get Dumb and Dumber out there all better again."

Ted sighed. "How could those two break up?" he asked.

"They're crazy, that's why. They probably had a stupid argument and neither has the balls to say sorry." Cody responded.

"This is so not what we need. We need to stick together not start crumbling apart. That's exactly what the people who are doing this want. They want us divided so they can hurt us faster and easier."

Cody nodded. "Divide and conquer; an excellent game plan."

"It's starting to fall apart. We need to get back on track and find this person."

Ted placed a kiss on Cody's lips. "Get John in here. I wanna talk to him."

Back in the waiting room Randy and John sat quietly. They both looked up as Cody approached.

"Johnny, Teddy wants to speak to you."

John stood up and walked away. He walked down the quiet hallway until reaching Ted's room and he cautiously opened the door.

"Teddy, how are you?"

Ted turned and looked at him. He smiled and held out his hands. "A hell of a lot better than you! What the hell is wrong with you?"

John opened his eyes and tried to answer the question. "Excuse me?"

"You and Randy called it quits? What's wrong with you? Why did you do that?"

John sat in the chair next to his bed. "I didn't do anything. Randy called it off, not me."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Of course he did. Randy is Randy. He flies off the handle, he overreacts, and he punches first then asks questions later. You know this! You have to fight to get him to realize he's wrong. Why aren't you?"

John shook his head. "I don't know. I'm so confused. I love him but I hate that it's so hard."

Ted looked at him and felt his pain. "I'm sorry, Johnny. It'll work out. You guys are so good together. Get him in here."

John nodded unconvincingly and tried to smile. He got up and said, "OK, and I'll try to get you out of here as soon as possible."

Ted smiled and reached up to hug his friend tightly.

Outside the hospital room, Randy now sat with Alanna still asleep in his arms. He looked up when he heard John approach.

"Hey, Ted wants to see you. I'll take Al so you can go see him."

Randy stared at him with a raised eyebrow and smirked. "Are you kidding me? You expect me to leave my kid with you? That's never gonna happen again, John." He laughed sarcastically and shook his head.

John stared at him and no longer felt any pain. "You son of a bitch! How dare you imply that you can't leave your daughter with me! I would never hurt her and you damn well know it. I damn near gave up my life for her! You're just pissed at me because I said something stupid that hurt your feelings. You know I didn't mean it but you can't accept my apology because you're too damn stubborn so you've decided to hurt me back by keeping Alanna away from me. You're pathetic. Get a fucking life."

He walked away and didn't turn back. Randy watched him go in shock. He balled his fists in rage but took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Randy, you OK?"

He opened his eyes quickly and saw Cody staring at him. It was obvious he had witnessed the incident.

"I'm fine. Could you take her? Ted wants to see me."

He handed a sleeping Alanna over to Cody, who balanced her on his good arm. He looked at Randy's retreating back and sighed.

"We gotta get those two back together."

* * *

Two hours later Randy walked into his house with Alanna beside him. John followed behind walking at a snail's pace.

"So, Al, we spent all night in the hospital. How about we just hang out in front of the TV today and watch tons of movies and later I'll cook us some homemade food? "

Alanna nodded and sat on the couch. "Sounds good!"

Randy smiled and kissed her forehead. She giggled and looked at John.

"Uncle Johnny, you can sit with me then help Daddy cook later. What do you want for dinner?"

John looked over at Alanna and smiled. He shook his head and said, "No, princess, I can't stay with you today. I have tons to do. I'm gonna get some clothes for Uncle Cody and Uncle Teddy at their house and take them to the hospital. I'm gonna eat with them and stay overnight."

Alanna nodded and looked at Randy, who was looking down at his nails.

"Are we going, Daddy?"

Randy looked up and smiled. He shook his head and said, "Nope, I'm gonna stay with you. We'll go back to the hospital tomorrow and maybe we can bring your Uncles home."

Alanna nodded and hugged John good-bye. She turned and looked at Randy. "Daddy, you have to say bye to Uncle John."

Randy glared at him but then smiled thinly. "Of course, I forgot. I'll see you tomorrow, John. Give the boys a hug for me."

John sighed and nodded. "OK, then, see you tomorrow."

He turned and left the room quickly. He walked up the stairs and into his room and packed clothes for an overnight stay in the hospital. He proceeded out the door and into his car without another word to anyone in the house.

Randy watched him leave out of the corner of his eye and felt a sudden pang of sadness. He frowned as his heart seemed to skip a beat but he shook his head and concentrated on his daughter.

"So, Al, let's get dressed in some comfy clothes and get some movies ready."

He held out his hand and led Alanna up the stairs and into her room to change. As she picked out what she wanted to wear he walked down the hall into his own room and sighed. The first thing he saw was John's shirt on the chair beside their bed. He picked it up gently and inhaled John's cologne still fresh on it. As he did he heard John's words in his head and he threw it back down quickly.

"No! I will not do this."

He walked around the room and quickly gathered everything John had in his bedroom. He walked to the bedroom two doors down and dumped everything he collected on the bed.

"He can have that room."

He closed the door beside him and walked back to his. John's smell still greeted him at the door and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Damn it." Randy grabbed his cologne and sprayed it all around the room and opened up both windows as well. "That should get rid of his smell."

He walked into his master bathroom and splashed some water in his face. When he looked in the mirror above the sink he saw his face looked more worn out than if he had been working non-stop for a month.

"I have to hold it together. This is not going to break me."

Randy walked back into the room and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt before walking back to Alanna's room. "Hey, brat, you ready?"

Alanna nodded. She had changed into green pajamas and put on some green sneakers. "Daddy, you need shoes, too."

Randy wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No I don't. Let's go eat."

They walked back down hand in hand and reached the foyer as the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?"

Randy shook his head. "I don't know. Everyone we know is in the hospital. You go get a movie ready, OK, baby."

Alanna nodded and ran off to the family room while Randy approached the door. He looked through the peephole and was surprised to see the old man from the house across the street. He opened the door and said, "Hello, sir. How can I help you?"

The old man looked at Randy and held out a basket. "I'm returning your basket."

Randy opened his eyes and said, "Oh, I forgot all about it. I hope you and your family enjoyed the brownies."

The man frowned and anger flashed in his eyes. "I told you, boy, I have no family. I live alone."

Randy quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course I remember. I must have forgotten for a minute there."

He cleared his throat and leaned on the door. The man kept staring at him and made no effort to budge.

"I don't think you ever told me your name, sir."

"My name is Mr. Martin Jensen. You can call me Mr. Jensen."

Randy nodded and committed the name to memory. "My daughter and I were going to make some dinner. Would you like to join us?"

Mr. Jensen smiled thinly and shook his head. "No, thank you, boy. I need to get going. Besides returning the basket I wanted to ask how your friend was doing. The one that got bit in the arm by that rabid dog."

Randy looked at him thoughtfully. "Oh, thank you for asking. He's going to be fine..." He continued to stare at the old man. "How did you find out about him?"

Mr. Jensen frowned and turned to walk away from the door. "Your other friend told me when I saw him today."

Randy cocked his head to the side. "Really? Which one? I must have missed him."

Mr. Jensen looked irritated and quickly stammered, "The tall blond one. Enough of the questions!"

He walked across the street quickly and disappeared into his house slamming the door so hard Randy practically felt it.

"Ted."

"What about him?"

Randy turned to look at Alanna, who stood beside him. "Our neighbor, Mr. Jensen, said Uncle Teddy talked to him today."

Alanna frowned and raised her eyebrow exactly like Randy did. "But Daddy, Uncle Teddy wasn't here today."

Randy picked up Alanna and they stared at the house. "You're right, baby. That man just lied to me."

**A/N: Feeling generous so gonna upload another! Keep up with the reading and reviewing!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: As promised, two in one night. You all just got lucky! Hmm, that sounds dirty...**

"Why did we get so lucky? How did we avoid everything?"

Ted looked at Cody over the egg roll he was eating. "What are you talking about, Codes? What exactly did we avoid? Aren't we both in a hospital?"

Cody laughed and moved his food around on the plate. "Well, yeah, but for easy things. The car didn't actually hit you and the dog just gave me a really bad bite. Randy has been tortured and John was almost killed and had his house destroyed, but me and you have come away pretty OK."

Ted put down his food and looked thoughtful. "I guess we haven't gotten it that bad."

Cody nodded and took a bite. He looked down at his hands. "I feel like such a bad friend."

Ted looked at him and quickly shook his head. "What are you talking about, Codes? You're not a bad friend. There's nothing bad about you. You're an angel."

Cody smiled and said, "I feel selfish sometimes. I hate that these things are happening to our friends and I would give anything for it to stop, but at the same time I'm thinking that I don't want anything to happen to you or me." He sighed and reached over to grab Ted's hand. "I was so scared when you wouldn't come back to me after the accident. Despite how worried I was when John got hurt it didn't compare to how scared I was when I thought I lost you."

Ted pulled Cody in closer and kissed his lips gently. He rested his head on Cody's and looked into his deep blue eyes. "That doesn't mean you're selfish or bad, baby. You're only human. We love our friends, obviously, but there are some people just a bit more special to us in our lives. We also love ourselves and are programmed to protect ourselves, as well. It doesn't make you a bad person at all."

Cody nodded and moved to sit besides Ted, wrapping him in his arms. "You wanna know my latest thought?"

Ted nodded.

"If all these really bad things are happening to our friends and they're still alive that means this person has to be really pissed off. I mean, it's obvious that this person wants us erased of the face of this earth, but they're failing. We're surviving. That has to mean the person is gonna step things up a bit and really make things worse. I get the feeling the worst is yet to come."

Ted raised his head from Cody's chest and looked over at his face, creased in a worried frown. He held onto him tighter, willing his fears away.

* * *

Randy and Alanna remained at their front door staring at Mr. Jensen.

"Daddy, our phone is ringing."

Randy quickly set her down and shut the door. He ran to the kitchen and answered breathlessly.

"Hello?"

"Randy, are you OK? You sound out of breath. Just wanted to check and see how things are going with the boys and the burial."

Randy had kept Lily involved with everything that was happening and insisted for her and her family's protection that she stay away.

Randy smiled and sat on a stool. "Hey, Lily, I'm fine. The boys are gonna be great and the burial is being arranged. Are things OK over in your front line?"

Lily laughed and responded, "Yeah, all is good, thankfully. I called to ask you a favor, though. I have to go out of town for a few days. Don't worry; my bodyguards will be escorting me. Turns out Rose had property in West Virginia and I have to go sign some deed to get rid of it. Could you care for Angel for me for 3 days?"

Randy sighed and turned towards the living room at the sound of his daughter's laugh at something on the television.

"Lily, I would love to, but I don't think I can. Angel and Alanna had a fight last time they were together and Alanna hasn't forgotten. She can hold a grudge with the best of them. Unfortunately, I think I passed that trait to her."

"They had a fight about what? It's not that thing Angel told me about his dream of you dying? Randy, you know Angel always dreams weird stuff. I'm sorry he told Alanna but it means nothing."

Randy began to pace the kitchen and search something to cook. "I know it doesn't but Alanna is 4 years old and she doesn't know it's nothing. She didn't like that comment and I can't say I blame her. She hears her best friend tell her this and then her mother dies the next day."

He heard Lily sigh on the other end. "I guess I understand. I'll have to take him with me."

Randy frowned and set out some pots. "What about Mark? Why can't he stay with him?"

"Mark has to come with me, of course. What else could be the reason?"

Randy opened his eyes at Lily's attitude change and laughed. "It was just a question, Lily. I didn't know. Is Mark there? Can I speak to him?"

"I'm sorry, Randy, but he's busy right now. So, when are the boys getting home from the hospital?"

"Oh, OK. They should be home soon enough. Cody was discharged but he just refuses to leave Ted's side. John went to take them clothes."

Randy checked the heat on the pot of spaghetti and slowly stirred the meat. He opened his mouth to tell Lily about his and John's break-up but she spoke up first.

"Well, I'm gonna go now, sweetie. I'll talk to you when I get back."

Randy snapped his mouth shut and set the phone down. "That was weird."

Alanna walked into the room and crossed her arms over her chest. "Daddy, you're not watching TV with me. Can I help you cook?"

Randy lifted her onto the counter and gave her a bag of shredded cheese. "Yes, baby. You work on that cheese there."

* * *

John tapped his finger impatiently on the steering wheel waiting for a green light. He was on his way to the woods Cody and Ted called home. The radio sung out Queen's "One Year of Love" and John laughed sarcastically.

"One year of love, yeah right. I couldn't even get that."

The light finally changed colors and he drove on to the house looming among the trees. He parked in the driveway and used his key to open the door. The property was dark due to the sun setting and the coverage of trees surrounding it. John smiled as he walked through the house. Cody was meticulous about how his house was to be organized. John walked up to their bedroom and into the huge walk-in closet. Everything faced the same way and was organized by color. John quickly picked two outfits for each man and walked over to the dresser to get socks and underwear. He dumped it in the luggage along with their toothpastes, toothbrushes, deodorants and colognes.

He walked down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen. He took a can of Pepsi out of the fridge and sat in a reclining chair, took a long sip and leaned back in the chair. His cell phone rang, startling him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Johnny, where are you? I wanna get out of these hospital pajamas. Hurry up and get here."

"I'll be there in a few minutes, Ted."

John hung up and stood up feeling the stress of the past days and his argument with Randy still weighing heavily on him.

On his way back to the car he looked over at the creek Cody had gotten hurt in. He opened the back door of his Explorer and put the luggage in. He closed it and walked cautiously over to the creek. The grounds beside the little stream had footprints and paw prints all over it and told of the struggle that took place earlier. John walked around it, careful not to touch anything and saw a silver object gleaming in the mud. He frowned and moved it around with his sneaker.

"What is that?"

He bent and picked it out of the mud and realized it was a belt buckle engraved with the letters MJ.

"Hmm, maybe I should take this."

He stood up and quickly went back to his car. He wrapped the buckle in a tissue and drove towards the hospital.

* * *

The next day after a night of restless sleep Randy dragged himself out of bed at 7:00am. A shower helped wake him up and he quickly dressed in dark jeans, a white t-shirt and black sneakers. He walked back down to his living room and paced around anxiously. It was too early to call the hospital so he decided to look for some information on the Internet. He walked back upstairs to check on Alanna and grabbed her monitor and walked back down to his office. On the Internet he searched for any new information on the Rose case, as it was dubbed by the media and for any information any other source might have. It seemed some fans and the media sometimes knew more than the police. He also wrote an open letter for his main fan website to reassure the fans that everyone was well despite the recent accidents. He sent a Twitter message to his fans, as well, and on a whim, decided to do a search on Martin Jensen. Google returned many matches but only one caught his eye; "_Real Estate giant, Martin Jensen, loses stock after recent investments in small establishments_."

Randy read the short article with a frown.

"_Real estate magnate, Martin Jensen, who has been compared to mogul Donald Trump, has lost millions in his recent actions. The mysterious MJ has made millions with his investments in buildings, restaurants, stores and software but has recently changed his ways. Instead of sticking to his usual safe investments, MJ has begun to pour money into small family-owned establishments in rural parts of the country. He has been quoted as saying his goal was always to help smaller companies and businesses get off the ground. His background, of a lower middle class upbringing, explains to some his sudden desire to give his money away. While some are quick to praise, others can only hope his sudden goodwill will not be his downfall."_

Randy stared at the page and bit his lower lip. Something was picking at his brain frantically trying to connect. The phone rang loudly and he quickly picked it up.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Orton, this is Ms. Davis from the funeral parlor."

Randy groaned inwardly and said, "Yes, Ms. Davis."

"Just a reminder that Samantha's burial will be tomorrow afternoon at noon. She is to be buried beside her husband and the priest she requested will be able to perform the service. Is this all to your convenience?"

Randy sighed and responded, "Yes, it's fine. Thank you for everything."

Randy lay his head down on the desk and closed his eyes. He heard a loud bang outside and raised his head to see out the window. His eyes met Mr. Jensen's, who had come out of his house to throw out a bag of garbage. Randy smiled and waved, but the old man turned and walked back into his house.

"Jackass old man, I'm gonna find out your mystery."

He printed out the article and folded it before sliding it into his back pocket. The clock read 7:55am so deciding it was late enough he called Ted's room.

"Who is this waking me up?"

Randy smiled and said, "You should already be awake, dude. Its morning and you gotta get out of there."

Ted laughed and said, "Hey, Ran. How's my girl?"

"Al's fine. She's still sleeping. I figured the more sleep she gets the better. Tomorrow is the burial."

"Ouch. Well, we'll be there for anything she needs. Anything you need, too. How are you doing after the battle heard round the world? If you're doing like John, you haven't slept and look like crap."

Randy rolled his eyes at John's name. "I could care less, Teddy. I am doing fine. Are you gonna come home today or not?"

Ted laughed again. "Yeah, apparently I just had a minor breakdown. I still have to come in as an outpatient for therapy, but it's cool. We need to meet tonight."

"Of course we do. I want to see you guys whether John is there or not."

Ted said, "Aw, that's great and all, but that's not why we gotta meet. John found something in our yard and we're gonna decide as a group what to do with it. You know, should we show it to the cops or start doing things our way..."

Randy frowned and thought of how to respond when he heard Cody's voice in the background.

"Is that Randy?"

"Yes, just take the phone."

Randy heard the shuffle of phone switching hands and then Cody's voice. "Randy, I am so ready to get out of here and get my baby out of here. This place reeks already."

Randy nodded and responded, "I'm glad you're coming home. I'll see you later when we meet tonight to discuss John's mysterious discovery…" he said sarcastically.

Cody agreed and quickly hung up.

Randy felt his stomach growl but he didn't know if it was from hunger or from anxiety over seeing John later tonight. He began to pace the office and decided to check on Alanna. She was still asleep and Randy sat on the floor to watch her. His mind replayed the argument with John and he found himself getting angrier. Alanna suddenly turned over in her bed and stared at her father.

"Hi Daddy. Why are you on the floor again?"

Randy smiled and shrugged. "Just waiting for you to get up, princess. Let's get ready for the day and have some fun, OK?"

Alanna jumped up in bed and they began the process of preparing for the day. Randy took Alanna to the park after breakfast and sat in a park bench watching her play. Randy played with the zipper on his jacket and tried to entertain himself and make the day pass, but it only crawled by. He couldn't stop thinking of seeing John later this afternoon. Alanna noticed her father's boredom and came over to talk to him.

"Daddy, do you wanna go?"

Randy shook his head quickly and mentally cursed himself for not being able to focus on spending a pleasant day with his daughter.

"Damn you, John." He thought angrily.

Randy smiled and sat Alanna beside him. "No, I'm just distracted, baby. I'm a little mad at Uncle John, Al. That's all. It has nothing to do with you."

Alanna looked confused at the prospect of her father and uncle fighting. "Why are you mad at him?"

Randy rolled his eyes toward the sky. "He wanted me to send you to your grandparent's or his parent's house."

Alanna smiled but shook her head. "I don't wanna go, Daddy."

Randy hugged her quickly. "Don't worry, baby, you're not. I told him no and he got mad then I got mad. It was bad."

Alanna nodded seriously as she was well aware of her father's temper. "You have to say sorry and make up."

Randy nodded and mumbled, "Let's see what happens." He took a deep breath and said, "Something more important is going on, Alanna. Tomorrow is mommy's burial service."

Alanna's eyes opened wide with fear. "Is that where they put her in the hole with dirt?"

Randy thought of how he could explain this to his daughter and more importantly, how he was going to get her through it. "Yes, baby. They do put her in the hole with dirt. It's called being buried. It's our last chance to put her to rest and let her know she can be at peace now. We can visit her whenever you want."

Alanna looked down at her shoes and pulled her legs up close to her chest. She lowered her face and began to cry softly. Randy felt his eyes tear up, as well, and he pulled his daughter over to him.

"Oh God, baby, I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I would give anything not to see you in pain."

Alanna hugged her father's neck tightly and whispered in his ear, "I wanna go now."

**A/N: OK, see you all soon! **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Last lazy day at home before the work grind tomorrow. Thankfully, feeling better. Gotta say, lazing around for 2 days every once in awhile can do a body and soul good! **

Wordlessly, Randy stood up and walked home with his daughter in a tight embrace.

Once at home he sat in his favorite reclining chair with Alanna lying on his chest. "You better now, baby?"

Alanna wiped her eyes and shrugged. Randy bent and kissed her forehead and smoothed back her hair. "How about you eat some lunch while I plan dinner for later?"

Alanna cracked a smile and nodded. Randy fixed a sandwich for her and set it down in front of her besides a glass of milk. She picked at it before looking up at her father.

"Can we go see Angel? I wanna be friends again."

Randy frowned in surprise. "You do? I'm sorry, baby, but Angel went away with his parents. They wanted to leave him here but I thought you would get mad, so I said no."

"Oh. Can we call him later?"

Randy nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Now really, I need an idea for dinner. I'm gonna cook something amazing. How about tacos?"

Alanna laughed loudly. "You can't cook that, Daddy."

"I can so cook, you little brat! You just think I can't because I hate chicken and don't cook it well."

Alanna continued to laugh and jumped to the floor. She gave Randy her empty plate and glass. "I'm gonna go play in the yard. May I? "

She ran to the back door and it was on the tip of Randy's tongue to say no, but he decided to hold back. He wanted desperately to give his daughter a resemblance of normalcy. He could see her from the kitchen anyway. Yawning loudly, he pulled from the refrigerator the ground sirloin for the tacos, but upon inspection found he did not have enough for all other members of the family.

"Crap."

He left the meat in the fridge and grabbed his car keys. "Al, lets go to the market. I need more stuff."

Going to the market with his daughter was an event, as Randy knew by now. He came home with 8 bags of groceries instead of the 1 he planned. When he pulled into his driveway and hour later he found it crowded with both John's and Cody's cars.

"Great, everyone is here super early."

Alanna unbuckled himself and tried to get out of the car. Randy walked around and pulled her out. She ran towards the front door. "Daddy, everyone is home!"

Randy stood beside the car with his heart racing. He knew exactly who was in the house and he dreaded having to go in there. Without warning the object of his hesitation opened the front door and Alanna jumped into his arms.

"Uncle Johnny, you're home."

John laughed and spun Alanna around. He looked towards the car into Randy's stare, but ignored it. He concentrated on Alanna and her questions.

"Where is everyone? Do you know Daddy is gonna make tacos? We went to the market and I bought a lot of cookies. I bought some soda, too. Do you know tomorrow is Mommy's burial? Are you still mad at Daddy?"

John looked at her and smiled. "Alanna, why don't you go inside? I'll help Daddy with the bags."

He watched Alanna run inside and into Ted's arms before the door closed behind her. When he turned to look back at Randy, he was slowly moving towards the back of the car. He cautiously approached him and said, "Do you need help?"

Randy opened the trunk and stood before him. "Of course I do. This kid went crazy in the store." He pointed to the bags inside and shook his head. John reached in and grabbed 4 bags and Randy grabbed the rest. They walked in the kitchen together and the house was loud with the talk of Alanna, Cody and Ted.

Randy busied himself with putting groceries away in order to avoid meeting John's eyes. He felt John's stare on his back and it was driving him crazy. He could take no more. He slammed a cupboard door closed.

"Do you still want to talk about things?" He turned and met John's surprised look with his own bold, icy one.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then put the stuff away and stop burning a hole in my fucking back. I don't like being stared at and you know that. We'll talk about everything, but later."

John nodded and smiled at him. Randy smiled back quickly and turned his gaze onto the food he was going to prepare. John walked back into the living room where everyone was sprawled and pretended to listen to the conversation. He only caught bits and parts, though. He couldn't wait until later. Despite Randy's glare and attitude, John knew he was softening.

Hours later after the food was cooked and everyone had eaten their fill, Randy reached for Alanna's hand. "It's bedtime, my child. Say good night and let's go."

Alanna nodded and walked around to hug everyone. When she reached John, she took his hand and pulled him up. "I want you and Uncle John to tuck me in."

Randy's expression remained unreadable and he nodded. They walked up to Alanna's bedroom and Randy helped her get ready for bed while John stood in the doorway.

"Daddy, we forgot to call Angel."

Randy said, "We did, didn't we? I'm sorry, baby; it's been a long day. We'll call him tomorrow."

Alanna nodded and pointed at John. "You two are gonna say sorry, right? People who love each other can't fight."

Randy looked at John then back at his daughter. "Go to sleep. Everything will be fine." He kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you, baby."

John approached the bed and did the same. They walked out of the room closing the door partly and slowly walked down the hallway.

"So, Alanna wants to make up with Angel?"

Randy nodded and crossed his arms. He shrugged and looked down at his sneakers. "Yeah, she does. I figure if my four year old can apologize and try to make things work with someone she cares about, then I should be able to try, too."

John laughed and looked at him. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Randy shook his head and smirked. "Don't even try. We're not there yet."

John continued to smile but nodded. He smirked at Randy. "OK."

They walked in silence for a few minutes until Randy spoke up again. "I know I'm amazing. So are you, you know that?"

John looked over at his smiling face and felt the first glimmer of hope.

* * *

When the two men reached the living room, Cody was passing out beers. He looked towards them and asked, "You guys in?"

Both John and Randy nodded and he threw them each a beer. All four friends sprawled around the sofas and Randy began the conversation.

"OK, John, lets go. Whip it out."

Everyone turned to stare at Randy and each other. Four smiles soon broke out around the room and Ted finally said, "I, along with everyone else in the room, just got such a gross mental image. Could you two please control yourselves until we leave?"

Cody nodded and laughed loudly. "You two are such dumb asses. First you hate each other and break up and now you wanna get it on!"

Randy smiled and shook his head. "You guys are so fucking disgusting. Get your minds out of the gutter. I meant I want to see whatever this secret is John has."

Everyone nodded and looked over at John who continued to smile. "All right, enough jokes. I found this on Cody and Ted's property right next to the little creek where Cody got attacked by that dog."

He pulled a filthy silver belt buckle engraved with MJ on it out of his jacket pocket and laid it on the table between all the sofas. "I know it's dirty, but you could clearly see it says MJ. The question is what does that mean and how did it get there?"

Everyone began to murmur except Randy who continued to stare at the buckle. Something about it called out to him but he could not place it. His frown grew deeper as he tried to place it in his memory and John looked over to him.

"What is it, baby? What are you thinking?"

Randy looked up and shook his head in frustration, the endearment John having used going completely unnoticed.

"I don't know. I can't place it but I think I know something. God, I can't remember." He ran his hands over his head.

John looked at him encouragingly. "It's OK, Ran. Don't worry. It'll come to you."

Randy leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. "Let's start with the obvious. Those letters have to be initials of something. It could be a place, thing or person."

Cody nodded and looked around the room. "None of those initial match any of us, so we're out of the picture. They don't match any else we know, right?"

Everyone shook their head.

"What if it's a place? Does anyone remember a place with those initials?" asked Ted.

Again, everyone answered no.

"Well, last one. Could it be a thing?" Cody looked at everyone. This time they all shrugged.

Randy sighed loudly. "Guys, this was on your property, so you should know better than any of us. If that isn't yours maybe it was there when you bought the house. Do you know anything about the last owners?"

Ted shrugged and looked at Cody, who thought for a minute. "The real estate agent told us the last owners were an older couple. They raised 3 kids in the house but sold it because the kids went off to college. They were the Thompson Family; George and Francine Thompson. None of the kids names match, either. That's all we now about them."

"How long did they own the home?" asked John.

"More than 30 years." responded Cody

"It doesn't fit, though. All the rain and humidity would have really done damage to this buckle if it were there for that long. This has just been there for a very short time. It looks brand new except for the mud." mumbled Ted

Randy looked over at him and nodded. "He's right. Someone lost it on your property, guys."

"No one goes on our property. It's private and we have an alarm system all over the land."

Randy looked at Cody and shook his head. "Except for crazy rabies-infested dog hunter! How did that nut ball get on your property without an alarm going off?"

Randy and John looked at Cody then back at Ted. Cody shook his head. "Holy crap, you're right. I don't even know who the hell that guy was. He just walked around our land like he owned it and knew it pretty damn well."

Cody looked at John and said, "I think we found the buckle's owner. It has to be him. He's MJ."

Everyone began talking rapidly with excitement. Randy leaned forward to grab his beer and felt something poke him through his pants. "Ouch,"

John stopped talking and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Randy stood up and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. His eyes opened in dawning of what he had been trying to remember.

"Oh my God, I had forgotten this. I think I know who MJ is! Read this article."

He put it on the table and everyone leaned over to read it. Randy felt excited with the new knowledge they were all getting. Everyone finished reading and looked up at Randy.

"Who the hell is Martin Jensen? The initials do match, but who is he, Ran?" asked John

"The crazy old man from across the street! I told you how freaky he is and he deliberately lied to me yesterday. He told me he spoke to Ted and he knew all about Cody's meeting with the dog!" Randy said in annoyance.

Ted frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "I was in the psych ward yesterday. How could I talk to your neighbor?"

"No kidding, Sherlock! He lied to me!" Randy threw his hands in the air in frustration.

John stood up and walked up to Randy. "Ran, just because he lied to you or you don't like him doesn't mean it has to be him. There have to be millions of MJ's in this world."

Randy shook his head and walked away from John. "Look, don't speak to me like I'm a child, OK. I know what I feel and something is off about this man. I tried telling you about the weirdness of this man and you never listened. Even Alanna feels something is off with him and of course, the mysterious woman who keeps waving at her. You don't listen to anyone, John."

Cody quickly stood up to run interference. "OK, guys relax. Look there's only one way to find out if this is true. I need to see this Mr. Jensen to see if it's the same guy who was at the house, OK. Let's just go pay him a visit."

Everyone moved towards the door but Randy held up his hands. "It's like 10:30 at night. We can't visit him now. Besides, I'm the only one he knows and I have a kid asleep upstairs. We'll go see him tomorrow."

Groans filled the room and Cody and Ted began to protest.

"Besides, I told you during dinner. Tomorrow afternoon is Sam's burial and we have to be there. We need sleep." Randy said sternly.

"Look, he's right. We'll go tomorrow morning. Let's get some sleep. I'm going home." Cody placed a hand on his head. "I think I'm drunk. I need to call a cab. Let's go, Teddy."

Cody headed to the phone and began calling a cab. Randy stared at him and felt panic. Everyone was leaving and he would be alone with John. He felt his heart start to race and quickly opened his mouth to invite everyone to stay. No words came out and he closed it. He took a deep breath and decided to let them go. He needed to face this. If John could, then he could. No one was stronger than him.

Half an hour later, though, the panic set back in. He stood in front of his house watching his friends drive away and felt John breathing behind him. He walked back inside and closed the doors. He set the alarm and turned around to see John sitting on the couch watching him.

"Are you ready to talk yet? About us or Sam's burial?"

Randy glared at him and tried to look indifferent. "Whatever."

John smiled and shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say. I apologized already. Do you want me to do it again? I will, you know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry times a million."

Randy looked down at his feet and smiled. He sat on the opposite end of the couch. "You know I always teach Alanna not to lie. I hate liars and I try to be honest with everyone I meet and include in my life. I think that's why some people really dislike me because the world is used to lies whether they know it or not. Everyone lies to you from day one until the day you die. I used to be one of those but I taught myself to believe in only me and it was hard to let people into my inner core and trust that they would never lie to me. I did that with all you guys and it's great. I swore I would never lie to any of you, but I did. I lied to you."

John tried to get Randy to meet his eyes but couldn't. "How did you lie to me, Ran?"

"I told you I could cut you out of my life without a second thought. That's not true. You have pushed yourself so deep into my heart that I can't get rid of you, hard as I might try. It's a great feeling but it's also a terrifying feeling."

John slowly moved over to him and reached for his hand. He was pleased when Randy didn't move it away. "Randy, it's OK. I know how you feel because I feel the same way. Of course it's terrifying! You're giving yourself up to another person and it's more than just giving up your body. You're giving up your heart and that's the most delicate thing you can possess."

Randy pulled his hand away and ran it through his hair. "I am still so angry at you. Why would you say what you did to me about my daughter?"

John shrugged, looking miserable. "I don't know. I got mad and said it in the heat of the moment. I offered you help with Al and you turned me down so quickly. You never want to admit when you may need help and you definitely don't want to accept it from anyone. I felt inferior at that moment. I know Alanna is not my daughter, but I love her like she is, Randy. I don't know if you realize that. When you refused to let me help, I got mad and wanted to hurt you as bad as you hurt me."

Randy looked at him in surprise. He had hurt John without intending to. He never heard John sound defeated.

"Did you mean it? Do you think I would put Al in danger?"

John quickly shook his head and grabbed Randy's hands. "Randy, are you crazy? It is obvious to anyone who knows you that you will kill for that child. Nothing can hurt her while you're around. I hope you know that I would protect her the same way."

Randy smiled and nodded. "Trust me, daredevil, I know you would give up your life for her. Remember your close encounter with the car?"

John laughed and played with Randy's fingers. "Yeah, I'll always remember that wheel 2 inches from my eye."

He laughed and reached up to touch Randy's face gently. He ran his fingers over his lips and Randy gently kissed them. He smiled and pulled Randy in for a tight hug and slowly caressed his back through the shirt he wore. Randy pulled back and looked John in the eyes. One by one, he gently kissed his eyes shut. He took his face in his hands, pulled him close again and kissed his lips so hard his neck ached. John returned his kisses with enough pressure to lean him back ward. They kissed until both were breathless and John pulled away.

"God, Randy, I love you so much."

Randy smiled and ran his hands through his hair. "I love you more."

John laughed and hesitantly asked, "Are we really OK now?"

Randy tried to smile but couldn't. He knew what John wanted to hear and he desperately wanted to say it, but he couldn't. "I want it to be and it is, but I'm not ready to jump back in this relationship feet forward. I love you, John, I really do. We just need to take things slow here. This was our first fight and we learned something from it. That's the point of them, I guess. Let's just work on solving whatever this plague is that follows our family and us, then we'll move forward, OK. Besides, tomorrow is going to be a hard day. I need to deal with that and help Al deal with it."

John nodded and gently kissed him. "I understand, Randy, and I agree with you. I'll help you however I can. As long as we know we have each other's love, then everything will be OK."

**A/N: OK, I need these two together always! I couldn't break them up! Of course, who says there will be no more bumps, though? Review to find out! **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Since the work week is gonna begin tomorrow, I decided to do two updates. Don't know if I can update soon, so here you go!**

From the depths of his brain he could hear the ringing. Randy rolled over and landed on something. The ringing got louder and more insistent. His eyes opened and he looked around. He landed on another pillow.

"What the hell is that? Please make it stop."

Randy looked at the pillow and realized he was talking to it. He got up and listened. The incessant ringing was his doorbell. He walked quickly out of the room and crashed into John coming out of the guest room.

"Are they seriously here this early?"

Randy knew who John meant. His friends were obsessed on seeing Mr. Jensen and would not let sleep keep them down. He walked down and let them in.

"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty! We've got a mystery to solve!" Cody pushed his way in loaded with bags. "I've got breakfast for everyone."

Ted shook his head. "I promise I tried to hold him off a bit longer, guys."

Randy stood in the door and stared at him. He sighed deeply and followed them slowly into the kitchen where Cody was laying out the food. He yawned loudly and John laughed at his sleepy expression.

"Randy, go back to sleep and I'll take care of the kitchen."

Randy shook his head and mumbled, "I can't go back to sleep now. Let's just do what we have to do. We have to leave for the cemetery at 11:30 on the dot."

He turned and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" screamed Cody behind him.

"To get dressed, Cody! Leave me alone." He started to climb the stairs when John called out to him.

"Wait for me. I've gotta get dressed, too." He smiled at Randy, who returned the smile, despite his annoyance.

"Why do some people look like you in the morning and others look like me?"

Randy laughed and answered. "You look gorgeous and you know it."

John continued to smile and said, "I would love to kiss you, but I haven't brushed my teeth, so I'll spare you."

"For that I thank you."

They walked into their respective rooms and prepared for the day. Randy picked out the suit he would wear for the burial and left in hanging in his room. He would change right before it was time to leave. He took a quick shower and dressed quickly so he could go attend to Alanna.

When he reached Alanna's door, he heard her talking to John. He smiled and opened the door softly, peering inside. Alanna was fully dressed and sitting on her bed while John helped her pick the shoes to match her dress.

"How about these, Al? You can look like Mommy. I know she had shoes like these."

Alanna smiled and nodded. "OK, I'll wear those."

John put them on her feet and looked at Alanna's sad face. "Baby, you're not gonna be alone there, so you don't have to worry or be scared. My grandma died when I was your age and I was so scared of the burial. I thought she could feel it being in the box and when they throw the dirt in, but my mom explained it to me. They can't feel it. My grandma wasn't in that box and Sammy isn't in the one today."

Alanna stared at John with a look of confusion. "Then, where are they?"

John smiled and said, "Their bodies are in the box, but their soul is already in Heaven with God and all the angels. They're happy up there and they're looking down on us and protecting us. Nothing can hurt them anymore."

Alanna nodded and asked, "So, it's OK if they throw dirt in the box? She won't feel it because she already became an angel, too, right?"

John nodded and hugged her tight. "That's right. Sammy is an angel and God doesn't hurt his angels, right?"

Alanna smiled happily and nodded. "That's right!"

Randy pushed open the door completely and stared at them.

"Daddy!"

Randy smiled at his daughter and picked her up quickly. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, princess. Are you OK? Did you thank Uncle John for helping you get ready?"

Alanna nodded and looked at John. "Yup, I did and Uncle Johnny explained to me what's gonna happen today."

Randy smiled and kissed her again. He put her down and said, "Go on down. We'll be right there. Please don't get dirty."

Alanna ran out of the room and Randy's happy expression disappeared. He glared at John through narrowed eyes.

"God, Randy, I hate it when you look at me like that. What is it now?"

Randy continued to stare. He said, "I have tried a million times since Sam's death to explain the burial process to Alanna. Besides that, I have also always tried to make sure she got a good sense of religion despite my lack of belief in many religious things. I now see I haven't done a good job of it, though."

John opened his mouth to protest, but Randy held up a hand.

"As hard as I have tried she hasn't always fully understood. Yet here you are and in a couple of minutes you made her happier than I have in the past couple of days just by telling her a story from your childhood and you managed to make her understand the death process."

John shrugged his shoulders and looked guilty. "Do you want me to apologize for that? I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes and became too fatherly. I'll stop if you want."

Randy raised his head and studied him. "Why would I want you to stop?"

John looked surprised which caused Randy to laugh out loud.

"I was shocked by what you just did, John, and how you managed to do it. Anyone who can make my daughter smile and help me be a better parent to her stays in our life forever. I'm just blown away by how incredible a father you can be. Thanks."

John smiled and looked at Randy, stunned. "You actually want me to help you?"

Randy nodded and smiled. "We gotta go. Lots to do before noon."

John nodded and followed him back downstairs. Everyone stood in the foyer as they approached and Ted clapped his hands together.

"All right, we're ready to party. Let's go!"

He opened the door and everyone walked slowly across the street. Halfway there, Randy stopped.

"Wait a minute, guys. What the hell are we doing? We're all gonna ambush this old man?"

Cody laughed and shook his head. "No, dude, only you are. We're gonna hide in the bushes so I can get a good look at him. You're gonna have to get him to come out of the house a little, though."

Randy sighed and nodded. He took Alanna's hand and said, "Come on, Al, you can help me be sneaky today."

Alanna giggled and nodded. The rest of the men each positioned themselves in the bushes along the old man's house with Cody in the front. Randy stared at the front door and bit his lip. He frowned, walked back and looked at the boys in the bushes.

"Wait, what excuse am I going to use to want to see this man? Its obvious he doesn't like me so why would I come knocking on his door again?"

Cody shrugged and pushed Randy closer to the door. "Just say what comes to your brain, Ran. You're not as dumb as you look."

Randy glared at him as he crawled back to his hiding spot. He walked to the door and knocked as he searched his mind for a reason for his visit. He waited a few seconds and knocked again. The door swung open and Mr. Jensen stepped out wearing overalls with red stains and a huge butcher knife.

Randy's eyes opened wide and he quickly pushed Alanna behind him. "Oh my God, what the hell are you doing?"

Mr. Jensen frowned and looked at the knife in his hand. "Oh, pardon me, boy. I'm preparing lunch." He walked back in the house and put the knife on his hall table. Randy took the opportunity to look inside the house and saw it was furnished very sparsely. Only a few chairs and tables sat in his family room and the walls were completely bare.

"Now, boy, what can I do for you?"

Randy opened his mouth and said, "Umm, the neighborhood had an idea and I wanted to see if you wanted to participate."

Mr. Jensen stared at Randy and shrugged. "Well, what kind of idea?"

Randy looked around the neighborhood and frantically came up with an idea when his eyes set on John's burned home. "A neighborhood watch. There have been some crimes around the neighborhood lately and some people are thinking of starting a neighborhood watch group. Is that something you would be interested in?"

Mr. Jensen stared at Randy intently. "Is this something you're gonna participate in?"

Randy quickly nodded. "Of course I would. It's a great idea."

"I've been doing some research on you, boy. You're not a typical member of the community, are you?"

Randy shrugged and looked at the old man.

"You're a famous one, aren't you? You're on some wrestling TV show with all those boys that always come to your house. Why does someone with your money want to hang around in a neighborhood watch? You could just pack up and move."

Randy frowned and shook his head. "I live in this community and will help it in any way I can. My money doesn't interfere with that. The easy thing is packing up and moving, but I never take the easy way out." He looked at the man and raised an eyebrow. "It seems we think a lot alike, Mr. Jensen. You did research on me and I did some on you. Are you the MJ that almost gave Donald Trump a run for his money?"

Mr. Jensen remained uninterested and said, "It was about a million years ago. I had money, just like you, and because I tried to help some people, like you want to do, I lost it all. Think about it. You might just be looking at your future."

Randy smiled and responded, "Well, if you have to lose it all to help people, then it can't be that bad. You must have some great karma."

He looked at he bushes and back to the man's face. "The article said you helped some family's get their small businesses off the ground. What kind of businesses were they and how did they get to you?"

Mr. Jensen put his hands over his chest and smiled thinly. "Aren't you a nosy bastard? Am I being interrogated here?"

Randy laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry if I'm nosy. I just don't understand, but feel free to ignore my questions."

The old man shrugged and mumbled, "I set up a program for people to apply for grants my company offered. They had to meet certain requirements and if they did they got the money to get their business of the ground. Before I lost it all I helped 5 families start small businesses like diners, discount shops, inns and other stuff."

Randy tried to remain calm despite the excitement building in him. "Inns?"

Mr. Jensen nodded and said, "Yeah, they're like little hotels or something."

Randy nodded and the old man moved back in his house.

"Look, I gotta finish cooking. Let me know when to meet for that neighborhood watch thing."

He slammed the door in Randy's face and Randy smiled. He picked up Alanna and walked quickly back across the street.

"Daddy, they're still in the bushes." Alanna whispered in his ear.

"It's OK; they'll follow us in a few minutes."

He walked back in his house and set Alanna down. He looked out the window and a few minutes later he saw the boys work their way out of their hiding place. He moved away from the window and met them all in the hall.

"Randy is definitely not dumb! I got information out of him and you all got a good, long look at him."

He smiled and looked at Cody. "So, was it the same guy?"

Cody nodded and everyone fell silent. They all walked over to sit down and finally John broke the silence.

"I don't understand. This guy told Randy tons of information, whether he knows it or not. Would he do that if he were involved?"

Everyone shrugged and sat silent. Randy finally stood up and said, "It doesn't matter now, anyway. We have to eat some breakfast and get ready for the burial. The cars will be here soon."

All the men in the room nodded and each went to a room to dress. Randy left Alanna with John eating breakfast and went up to his room to concentrate on dressing himself. Once he was presentable in a black suit, he stopped and looked in the mirror. Anyone would say he made a handsome reflection, but all he saw was an exhausted, pale faced man. He clumsily messed with his tie and put down his trembling hands.

Randy put down his hands in frustration and walked away from the mirror.

"Are you OK? Do you need any help?"

Randy turned to see John, fully dressed, standing in his doorway.

"No, I'm fine. My hands keep shaking, though. It's so stupid. It's like Sammy's gonna come down from the heavens and scold me for not looking appropriate."

John smiled and said, "Randy, you look gorgeous. Trust me, Sam would never scold you." He moved over to him. "Let me help you with your tie." He reached out his hand but Randy quickly moved away.

"I can do it myself. Can you just go downstairs and make sure everyone is ready to go? The cars will be here in a few minutes."

John nodded and walked away slowly. In the doorway of the bedroom he turned back and looked at Randy.

"It doesn't matter how many times we talk, does it?"

Randy frowned and looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about now?"

John smiled and shook his head ruefully. "You're never going to let me in, are you?"

Randy understood his question and continued to stare at him intensely. He saw John turn and walk out of the room and he turned to stare at his face in the mirror. He couldn't say a word.

**A/N: Gonna go watch Bragging Rights! See you all soon and don't forget to review, please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: OK, so I gotta update, LOL! **

"Our service has ended. Go in peace, my children."

Randy watched as people slowly began to file away and smiled as they each looked at him and Alanna with a mixture of sorrow and hope. It had been a small ceremony with only Sam's family, David's family and his friends in attendance.

"That was beautiful, Father Michael. Thank you for performing the service."

The priest shook Randy's hand and patted Alanna's head before saying good bye.

"If you need anything, please call."

Randy smiled and nodded. He looked down at his daughter and bent down to her. "Baby, you ready to go?"

Alanna nodded and took her father's hand. They walked over to the grave and each threw in a red rose. Randy closed his eyes and prayed to Sam for her continued protection over their family.

"Daddy, why are your eyes closed?"

Randy opened his eyes and looked down at his daughter. "I'm talking to Mommy."

Alanna smiled and closed her eyes at well. A few moments passed and when she was ready, they walked hand in hand back to where the rest of the group stood.

"So, are we going home or what?" asked Cody.

Everyone stared at Randy for a response and he nodded when he saw his watch. "Yeah, let's go home and cook a nice meal and for once speak only of happy things. I think Sammy would want that."

Everyone smiled and they slowly made their way into the 3 cars awaiting them. A mass of paparazzi had gathered on the grounds outside the cemetery and the cars slowed to avoid them. The bright flashes of the cameras blinded them but they finally managed to get away.

Randy sat beside John and with Alanna in his lap. He stared at the cemetery as they passed the outside. Over the tall stone wall, Randy saw other families entering the cemetery. He craned his neck and saw a family with small children entering the cemetery grounds. Randy lowered his head as he realized this surreal moment would be one he would go through many times now. This was his life now. He would be the one entering the cemetery with his child to visit a lost loved one. He saw the objects in the car start to spin, so he closed his eyes and felt his chest clench. He tried to take a deep breath and couldn't.

"Randy, are you OK?"

He looked at John with panic written all over his face. He shook his head frantically. "Can you take her? I think I'm hyperventilating."

He gave Alanna over to John and lowered his head to his knees. John stared at him with concern and passed Alanna to Cody, who sat with Ted opposite them. Cody looked at Randy with concern but turned his attention towards Alanna. "So, princess, why don't you decide what we're gonna eat for our family dinner?

Alanna nodded hesitantly as she stared at her father from the corner of her eye.

John turned back to Randy and rubbed his back slowly. "It's OK, baby. Just breathe slowly and deeply." He continued to rub his back and ran his fingers up to his hair. He slowly ran his fingers through it and whispered words of comfort in Randy's ear.

Randy felt his chest relax and inhaled deeply a few times. He slowly raised his head and leaned back in the seat. He quickly looked over at Alanna, who was giggling with Cody and Ted.

"I'm OK now."

John smiled and took his hand. "I know you're freaked out, but you're not alone. We'll all be here with you. We'll walk with you into this cemetery whenever you and Alanna do."

Randy smiled and closed his eyes again. "I told you its creepy when you read my mind, John."

John shrugged and said, "You're easy to read."

Randy shook his head. "No, I'm not. No one can read me like you."

John stared at him and mumbled, "Probably because no one loves you like me."

Randy opened his eyes and looked over at John. He nodded and grabbed his hand. "Probably."

* * *

Hours later after dinner and Cody and Ted had gone home, Randy sat on his front deck smoking a cigarette. He looked around his quiet neighborhood and saw no movement. People were nestled in their homes and cars were stored for the night. No sound broke the silence.

"This neighborhood is creepy."

He laughed at himself then jumped when his cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Randy, this is Detective Rosen."

Randy sat up straight and prepared to listen to the detective's news. He had called him when they returned from the burial to inform him of the group's new suspicions about Mr. Jensen.

"I had a meeting with your neighbor and found out that he is connected to the Rose case, but I'm not sure how much. The Jacobs family, Rose and her then husband, did apply and receive a grant from MJ Incorporated. That's Mr. Jensen's former company."

Randy's eyes widened. "So, could they have developed a relationship that might be involved in this case? Could he have helped Rose escape or be trying to finish what she started?"

"No, don't get excited. Mr. Jensen's connections to Rose and Daniel Jacobs end there. He helped them start their inn and then left the rest of the business up to them."

Randy sighed and shook his head. "So, you're telling me the fact this man, who is connected to the woman who tried to kill me, just happened to move across the street from me by coincidence? No way, Rosen."

He could hear the detective's frustration. "I didn't say I was done investigating. Mr. Jensen did stay involved a bit and helped Rose pay for her husband's medical care and funeral expenses about 10 years ago. He also helped Rose set up a trust fund for Lily and get rid of the property her parent's left her in West Virginia. He seemed to think it wasn't strange that he gave this family more attention than the others, but I'm still looking into that."

Randy frowned. "Wow, he was a nice man at one time."

The detective laughed at the other end and replied, "Very nice man. I still didn't get everything I want from him so I'll be seeing him again."

Randy nodded to himself and said, "Please keep me informed."

He said good bye and heard the door open behind him as he put down the phone. He turned to see John holding a black trash bag.

"Can you throw this out, babe?" John gave him the bag and turned to walk back inside.

"Wait, John, come here."

Randy patted the space on the stair beside him. He smiled when John sat next to him. "John, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I was just anxious and jumpy about the burial."

John nodded. "I know you were. Don't worry about it."

Randy shook his head. "It wasn't nice. I can't use you as a punching bag whenever I'm stressed. I hate when you think I'm hiding myself from you because it's not true. You know me better than anyone, maybe even me. I'm not scared of that anymore. I realized in the car today that I love how you get me."

Randy took John's hand and kissed it gently. "I love you, John."

John stared at him and laughed. "Wow, you must be bipolar or something. You go through so many moods that I feel like there's a few Randy's running around."

Randy smirked and smiled.

"I love you, too, Ran. I always have. I wouldn't deal with your moody ass if I didn't."

John smiled and pulled Randy into a tight hug. They kissed quickly and both stood up.

"It's cold out here. Throw that out and come inside."

Randy nodded and watched John go into the house. He walked over to the trash cans beside the curb and inserted the bag. He heard a loud rustling of leaves coming from the bushes and when he took a step towards them a figure leaped out and grabbed his wrist roughly.

Randy spun around the person and found him staring into the furious eyes of Mr. Jensen.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The old man retained his surprisingly tight grip on Randy's wrist. "You son of a bitch. I don't know what you told that cop, but call him off. He's been hounding me all day asking questions about that Rose lady. I got nothing to do with this boy."

Randy pushed the man away and freed his wrist. He glared at the old man and said, "First of all, don't ever touch me again because I can and will break you in half if you do. Secondly, if you have nothing to hide, then what's the problem? Maybe you are involved and that's why you're so pissed off."

He smiled at the man and said, "Actually, I know you're involved, Jensen. I don't believe in coincidences. You're here for a reason and I wanna know it. What are you planning, old man? You got Rose up there stashed in a room? Is she the person my daughter sees in your house even though you insist no one is there?"

Mr. Jensen laughed loudly and replied, "You're sick, boy. You need to get your whole family some therapy with all your millions." He lowered his tone and glared at Randy. "I'm telling you again, boy. Call off the cops or you'll regret it."

He poked Randy in the chest and walked away quickly. Randy stared at the man angrily and took a step forward. His sneaker hit something and he bent to look. A square black object lay on the ground. Randy bent and picked it up. His eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh my God!"

He ran quickly back to the house clutching the item in his hand and completely oblivious to the black van that made its way silently down the street. Randy banged open the door of the house and locked it carefully. He set the alarm and walked into the kitchen with his prize in his hand.

"John, look what I found!"

John was cleaning his hands on a towel. He dropped it on the counter and looked at Randy.

"What did you find?"

Randy placed the box on the table and saw John's eyes widen. "What happened to your wrist, Ran? It looks so red?"

Randy looked down and saw that the area below his tattoo did look red. "Oh, that was when Jensen grabbed me. It'll go away soon."

John frowned and looked confused. Alanna ran into the room with an empty cup. She handed it to John, who took it while still staring at Randy.

"I don't understand what's happening."

Randy shook his head and said, "I'll explain later but first look at what I found." He pointed at the box on the counter again and looked down when Alanna pulled on his shirt.

"What?"

"I wanna sit up there."

Randy sat her on top of the counter and watched as she grabbed the box. "Al, don't touch that!"

Alanna ignored him and turned the box over in her hands. "I know what this is! This is a voice box, Daddy!"

Randy stared at him with surprise and nodded. "That's right. How do you know that?"

Alanna smiled and said, "I saw it on the Scream movies. The monster has one."

Randy raised his eyebrows. "Who the hell let you watch that movie?"

Alanna mumbled something under her breath and Randy asked, "Say that again,"

"Uncle Cody did, but don't tell him I told you!"

John laughed and Randy shook his head. "Good Lord,"

Randy looked at John and held up the box. "This was on the ground right where old man Jensen was standing. He must have dropped it when I pushed him."

He looked excited but John's face still registered shock and confusion. "Randy, why would you push an old man, babe?"

"Whoa, he pushed me first. Look at my wrist. He did that! He jumped out of the bushes and grabbed me."

John opened his mouth in awe. "Are you serious? Why would he do that?"

Randy made a dismissive motion with his hand and said, "He was all pissed because Rosen is asking him questions, so he took it out on me. Wait until I tell you what Rosen said."

He put the box down on the counter and Alanna picked it up. She put it to her mouth and said, "I am Gupta from the planet Mars. Take me to your leader!"

Randy and John shook their heads. She sounded like a frog but must have thought she sounded like an alien. Randy took the box away and picked her up of the counter.

"Al, go watch Scream and leave the box alone."

Alanna giggled and ran into the other room.

"John, if this guy has this box then maybe he can imitate our voices. Remember Ted's almost accident? Someone called him pretending to be Cody. Maybe that someone had one of these."

Randy wiggled the box in the air. John took it from his hand and studied it carefully. He pressed a few buttons and put it to his mouth.

"You may be right." He said with alarm.

Randy took a deep breath when he heard the words come out of John but with Cody's voice. John quickly put the box down and they both backed away from it like a bomb on the verge of explosion.

"OK, we need to call Rosen and the boys." said Randy.

John nodded and reached for the phone. He called over to Cody and Ted's house as Randy checked on Alanna. Both their house and cell phones rang with no answer. Randy walked back in the kitchen as John set the phone down.

"Ran, the boys aren't picking up the phone."

Randy closed the refrigerator and held a milk carton in mid-air. "Oh, God, that's not good. I have a bad feeling."

John waved his hands in the air. "No, don't say that. It's been a hard day. They're probably asleep." He stood up and reached for his car keys. "I'll go check on them."

Randy set the milk on the counter and shook his head. He reached over and grabbed the car keys before John could grab them. "No way, John. You're not leaving this house after what happened tonight. The enemy is right across the street. He could kill us through a damn window!"

John took the keys and said, "He could kill me in here, too, if he wanted to. I need to go check on the boys. I'm worried about them. I'll be right back, baby."

Randy groaned. "You're not supposed to say 'I'll be right back'. When people say that, they never return. It's one of the first rules in a scary movie."

John laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "Baby, we're not in a scary movie."

Randy smirked. "We're not?"

John shook his head and smiled. He pried the keys from Randy's hand quickly walked out of the house and drove off. Randy watched him go and quickly locked the door behind him. He poured Alanna a glass of milk and walked softly upstairs with her.

"Al, here's your milk. Drink it and get ready for bed."

Alanna took the glass and set it down. "Daddy, stay with me here."

Randy smiled and crawled into bed with his daughter. He felt some of the days exhaustion and tension wear off and closed his eyes.

**A/N: So, want another?**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Wow, I'm on a roll! 2 updates for this story and I published a new one! Now, I just need to get my brain working for my other story :-(**

When Randy opened his eyes again he looked beside him and saw his daughter asleep on his arm. He looked at his watch in shock and saw he had fallen asleep for 4 hours. He pulled out from under Alanna and walked out of the room. The entire house was pitch black except for the light in Alanna's bedroom.

Randy cautiously walked down the hallway and the stairs. When he reached the landing he saw a blurry shadow on the sofa and opened his eyes wide. He cautiously approached the shadow and kicked it roughly.

"Ouch, what the hell, Ran?"

Randy ran over to the wall and flipped the light switch on, flooding the room with light.

He looked over to where the shadow was and saw it was Ted. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Ted rubbed his shin and shook his head. "Dude, you are insane, do you know that? Cody and I woke up, saw about 10 missed calls from you guys, and came over. When we got here, you and Al were knocked out, so Cody and I went to sleep, too. We figured whatever it was; we could talk about it in the morning, but not at 2 in the morning."

He pointed upstairs and said, "Cody's upstairs asleep. Are you gonna kick go kick him, too?"

Randy shook his head and felt himself smile. He sat down on the couch and raised his legs on the table in front of him. "I'm sorry, Teddy. It was just reflex. I fell asleep in Al's room but I didn't mean to."

Ted nodded and lay back on the couch opposite Randy's. "Yeah, thank God I bought your key with me. Otherwise we would be sleeping on your stoop."

Randy laughed and looked around the room. "Did you bring home John?"

Ted looked at Randy and frowned. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen John. I figured he was asleep, too."

Randy sat up and looked at him, upset. "No, I saw John walk out of here to go check on you guys about 4 hours ago. We were worried when you didn't answer the phone. Is he here?"

He stood up and walked up the stairs with Ted at his heels. He ran to his bedroom and pushed open the door to reveal an empty room. He ran to the guest room he had moved John's things to and only found Cody, fast asleep.

"He's not here, is he?"

Ted looked at his panicked face and grabbed Randy's shoulders. "Let's look in the whole house before we panic, Ran."

Ted left him in the hallway and searched the entire house to find that John was nowhere in it. When he walked back upstairs he found Randy standing in the exact same spot he left him with his head bent down.

Randy looked up as Ted approached and said, "Stop looking. John's gone."

* * *

An hour later Randy sat on his couch with an empty cigarette pack in front of him. Cody walked up to him and took the pack away.

"OK, I'm cutting you off." He looked in the pack and shook his head. "Never mind. There's nothing in here."

Randy sat staring mindlessly into space. Ted had awoken Cody, who now stared at Randy anxiously. He and Ted worried about his reaction to yet more disastrous news and they were worried the news might be about John. Ted had called Detective Rosen to report John's mysterious disappearance and he assured them he would be right over. That had been 15 minutes ago. In that span, Randy had smoked the cigarettes, Cody had made a pot of coffee and Ted had paced around the living room over 50 times.

"Where the hell is this cop?" mumbled Ted.

Randy sat up suddenly and walked to the kitchen. Cody looked at him walk away and followed cautiously. He knew Randy wanted to be alone, but he was worried about what he might do.

"Randy, stay with us."

Randy ignored him and opened the door to the backyard. He walked over to the swing and sat quietly. Cody sat beside him and put his arm around Randy's shoulders.

"Randy, we're all scared. I know you're even more scared than us, though, because you love him in a different way. He'll be OK, Randy. He knows he has a lot to come home to."

Randy nodded and looked towards the driveway as a car pulled up. Cody stood up and said, "Its Rosen, Randy. Let's go talk to him."

Randy stood up and grabbed Cody's arm. "I can't. Please, you do it. I told you everything. Just pass it down to him."

Cody stared at Randy's face with a sad expression. He nodded and walked inside. Randy sat back down in the swing and slowly rocked back and forth. He lost track of all time and only remembered the sounds of the back door opening. He looked up to see Detective Rosen staring at him.

"Randy, I know you don't want to do this, but I need to talk to you. I need to hear your side of this story."

It was the last thing Randy wanted to do but he nodded. "I'm sure the boys told you everything I will. What are you trying to see if we're lying?"

Detective Rosen smiled and took out a notepad. It seemed so hilarious to Randy that he laughed out loud.

"I'm sorry, but this whole scene is right out of a TV cop show."

The detective continued to smile but said, "I'm sure it is. I am serious, though. Tell me in your words what happened."

Randy sighed and said, "After the burial we all came over and had a nice dinner. Later after everyone went home, I went outside for a smoke. Old man Jensen attacked me because he was pissed you interrogated him and after we had it out and he left I found the voice box on the street. I took it in and John and I decided to call the boys. They didn't answer so John went to get them. I went upstairs with my daughter and we fell asleep. When I woke up Ted and Cody were here but not John. Ted had seen the missed calls on his phone and they came right over but they never saw John."

The detective nodded. "So, the voice box was dropped by Jensen or was it just on the floor?"

Randy shrugged. "I don't know. It was in the exact same spot where he had stood so I assumed he did, but I don't know for sure." He shook his head and said, "If it's his then there's no doubt that he tricked Ted with the phone call pretending to be Cody."

Rosen nodded and said, "Yeah, sounds right. I'm on this case, Randy. I will crack it and I will do everything I can to find John. "

He quickly said goodbye to Randy and walked away. Randy remained sitting in his swing and heard him drive away. He searched his pocket for some cigarettes and then remembered he had none. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, reliving all his happy times with John and trying to drown out the bad thoughts creeping in.

* * *

When John awoke he lay in a dark room reminiscent of every basement he had seen in every horror movie he had ever seen. It was stinky and damp and everywhere he looked stains covered the floor. He cautiously lifted his head to see if he was alone in this hell hole and saw nothing beside him. He felt a sharp pain go through his head and reached up to touch it. With a gasp he looked at his hand covered in blood. All he remembered was being in the car on his way to Cody and Ted's. How the hell did he wind up here? John closed his eyes and tried to remember.

_John sat in his car listening to the ten o'clock news. He pulled up to a red light and looked around him. The night was quiet and despite it being early, no one was on the streets._

"_It's a weird night."_

_As he tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel waiting for the light to change to green, he saw a black van drive up behind him. At the same moment the light signaled his right to go and he drove on to Cody and Ted's house. He was about 5 minutes away and noticed the car from the stop light was still behind him. He decided it was nothing but he warily watched the car with one eye. It made every turn and swerve he did and remained right on his tail. He saw the house on the next corner and quickly sped to it. As he stopped his car at the gate to enter the alarm system code, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _

"_God, I am a nervous wreck." He laughed at his silliness when he noticed the big, black van parked behind. He gulped and decided to confront the situation. He knew no one on lived on this land but Cody and Ted. He got out of the car and approached the van._

"_Hey, who's in there? What the hell do you want following me?"_

_The door of the van swung open and John was greeted by a blast of liquid in his eyes that blinded him. He staggered back and rubbed his eyes furiously trying to stop the stinging. Suddenly the pain wasn't in his eyes anymore but in his head. He fell to the ground and remembered no more._

John frowned and touched his head again. He had been hit. That explained the blood. He had been blinded first and then hit. The questions were by who and why. He closed his eyes as dizziness washed over him and lay there awaiting his fate. Could he fight the attacker or not?

* * *

Randy got off the swing and went inside the house. He walked through the kitchen and saw Ted and Cody staring at two cups of coffee and in the living room. They smiled sadly at him when he passed and he smiled back. He walked over to the stairs and sat down already feeling like all hope was lost. It seemed everyone was preparing themselves for the worst. The smiles they all wore were the same one Randy wore in Sam's burial. It told everyone who looked at him, "Thank you for your condolences. Things aren't really OK, but I'll smile and pretend they are."

Randy hated it. He was never into putting on the facade and he wasn't going to start now. Yet whether he wanted to or not, he had smiled back when they did.

"Daddy!"

Randy turned to see his daughter coming down the stairs rubbing her eyes. "Al, what are you doing up?"

Randy reached up and sat his daughter in his lap. Alanna leaned her head on his shoulder and mumbled, "It's noisy. It woke me up. We forgot to call Angel again. Can we call him?"

Randy sighed and shook his head. "Al, it's too late. We'll call him later. I promise."

Alanna looked up at her father and said, "You always promise. You lied, though." She slid off his lap and looked around the house at all the lights turned on and the people who weren't there when she went to bed. "What's wrong? Where's Uncle Johnny?"

Randy stood up and walked into the living room. He ran his hands through his short hair and ignored his daughter for the first time ever. It seemed every time he spoke to her lately was to tell her bad news and he didn't want to do it anymore. He heard her running after him, her soft pajama bottoms patting the floor as she ran.

"Daddy, please, where is he? He could call Angel for me!"

Randy walked into the living room and sat beside Cody. "I can't do this anymore."

Ted and Cody looked at him with confusion written on their faces and at Alanna as she ran into the room.

"Daddy, you're being mean! I don't like you now!"

Randy laughed loudly at Alanna's comment and said, "Well that's too damn bad seeing as how you're stuck with me."

Alanna looked at him sadly and said, "Please, I wanna talk to Angel."

Randy sighed loudly and said, "No, I already said no! It's too late to call anyone and we are not going to call him now so stop bugging me!"

Cody looked at Alanna's sad face and said to Randy, "Ran, take it easy with her. She doesn't know what's going on."

Ted nodded and said, "Yeah, buddy, she's just a baby."

Randy stared at them and shook his head. "Go ahead, please and tell me how to raise my child! Apparently, I'm supposed to wake up a family in West Virginia because my kid wants to talk to their kid! What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Alanna looked at him sadly as tears began to fall down her face. "Daddy, I had a bad dream with Angel."

Randy shook his head and shrugged. "It was just a dream, Al. It's not real. It'll go away when they come home." He reached over and wiped his daughter's face clean. He had a nagging feeling again as if something were lurking in a corner, yet whatever it was this time, it was in his brain.

His friends had gone quiet at his outburst and stood watching him. He looked at each of them in turn and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do. What do I say?"

They all nodded and understood his question completely.

Ted wet a tissue with some water and handed it to Randy. "How about nothing for now?"

Randy nodded and cleaned Alanna's face more thoroughly. He smiled at her and said, "Baby, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I just had a bad dream, too. It's all going to be OK, though. I know I promised you we would call Angel today and I forgot, but we will later. It's really too late now and he's so far away."

Alanna looked at him closely and shrugged. She smiled and nodded reluctantly. "Is West Virginia really far?"

Randy shook his head. "Not really far."

He picked up his daughter and hugged her tight while pacing the kitchen floor. The nagging feeling refused to go away even after the rest of the boys began to talk among themselves. Cody noticed Alanna drowsing on Randy's shoulder and stood up.

"I think someone can sleep for a couple more hours. Al, I'll take you upstairs and tuck you in!"

Randy kissed her forehead and handed her over to Cody. He walked over to the window and stared at the Jensen house. He suddenly felt like a cartoon character in an old comic book where a light bulb appears on top of their head when they get an idea or figure something out. It all clicked and he turned to look at Ted.

Ted noticed his expression and asked, "What is it?"

Randy looked over at him and whispered, "Lily lied to me. She's not in West Virginia."

Ted frowned and looked up as Cody walked back into the room. "Say it again."

Randy stared at them and sighed deeply. "Lily lied to me. She's not in West Virginia."

Everyone stared at each other and Cody asked, "How do you know? Is she part of this?"

**A/N: We're coming to a conclusion...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Next chapter!**

Cody plopped himself on the sofa. "Are you serious? Did I hear you right?"

Ted shook his head and replied, "Yes, Randy over here just told us that the woman we saved from an insane nut job could be involved in a plot to kill us."

Randy held up a hand. "Wait, that's not what I said. I just said Lily lied to us. That doesn't mean she's involved, right?"

Randy rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Something has been picking at my brain all the day and it just clicked. I'm so confused, though. Lily told me she was going to West Virginia to sign a deed for some property Rose had. Then later, Rosen told me Jensen helped Rose get rid of her property in West Virginia years before. Lily lied to me but she can't know I know."

Ted frowned and looked towards Mr. Jensen's home. "Something is off here. Jensen can't be involved in this. There are too many mistakes being made here. We know too much. He doesn't seem to be the stupid kind."

Cody frowned and said, "We may know a lot, but what does it all add up to? Absolutely nothing! We still need more. John depends on it now!"

Randy groaned and said, "I am so exhausted of thinking and trying to figure things out but I don't think I can sleep."

Ted stood up and yawned loudly. "Well, I think that's exactly what we need; some sleep. We can't do anything for John except pray he is OK. We need to sleep and gather our strength."

Everyone nodded and walked slowly up the stairs. Ted turned off all the lights while Cody checked the doors and alarm. Randy looked out the hall window at the patrol car parked outside his home. With one final look at each other, they all went up to their rooms and fell into restless sleeps.

* * *

A week had passed since it all began. It seemed impossible to Randy that in a week he had gone from happily shopping with his daughter in a toy store to losing his ex-wife, almost losing his lover, having his friends almost killed, breaking up with his lover, getting back together with his lover and now almost losing his lover again.

Randy sat with his daughter on the front stoop of their house awaiting John's mom who was on the way to learn more about her son's disappearance. She had been horrified to learn of John's disappearance and held out in Boston as long as she could before hopping on a flight to Missouri. The news of John's disappearance had quickly spread to the public and media was everywhere he looked. Security was posted on the grounds surrounding his property and no one could come near without a good reason.

As Randy sat looking for Carol Cena's car, a siren blaring through his neighborhood made him turn and look to his right. A fleet of squad cars came blaring into the neighborhood and parked in front of his home. He quickly stood up and picked up Alanna.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

Randy turned to see his daughter's eyes filled with panic and mentally cursed the world for making his child suffer before shaking his head and mumbling, "I don't know, baby."

The front door behind him opened and Ted and Cody came out to see what the noise was. Instead of rushing his house, as Randy thought the police would do, they rushed into the house across the street. Randy turned to look at Ted and Cody behind him and felt a pang of hope. They were going to arrest Jensen! Did that mean Jensen was responsible? Had they been right? Most important of all, would they find John now?

* * *

Everyone went back in the house after the commotion in Jensen's house was over. He was dragged away kicking and screaming that he had nothing to do with it. The group could only stare and pray he was lying and that this horror would end now. They wanted their fear for John's safety to fade away and the only way for that to happen was when Jensen found John safe and sound.

As they all sat around the sofa anxiously awaiting news, Randy's doorbell rang. He quickly jumped up and looked out the window.

"It's John's mom."

Everyone stood up to greet them and Randy opened the door. Carol Cena flew into his arms and let the tears flow as she hugged him tight.

"Oh, God, Randy, is this really happening to us? How could someone want to hurt John? He doesn't have an evil bone in his body!"

Randy hugged her back just as tight and felt his eyes tear up as well. "I don't know Carol, but I know that we will find him. We will not lose him."

Carol pulled away and smiled sadly at him before nodding. She looked over his shoulder and moved into the house. "Wow, I got a standing ovation from all these gorgeous men! Come here, boys."

Ted and Cody smiled and walked over to hug Carol. She looked down at Alanna, who stood behind Cody and smiled at her. "Looks like we saved the beautiful girl for the last hug."

Alanna smiled and moved over to give her a huge hug. "Hi, Grandma Carol."

Randy raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "Grandma Carol?"

Carol looked over at him and replied, "I thought you knew she called me that. I love it since I have no grandchildren, but if you mind then she could stop."

Randy shook his head and looked down at Alanna, who stared at him expectantly. "I don't mind at all. Alanna is blessed to have so many people who love her."

Carol smiled and sat in a chair across from Ted. "OK, then lets start talking. Tell me everything that has been happening."

All four men sat around her and so began a long conversation recapping what had happened to them all this past week.

Later that night, Cody stood before the telephone with 5 menus in his hand. He stared at each and turned his head slightly to one side trying to decide.

"What are you doing?"

He jumped at Randy's voice behind him and then laughed at his own nervousness. "I'm trying to decide what to order for dinner. You are such a great cook, Randy, yet you rarely do it. Look at all these menus!"

Randy shrugged and pointed to another drawer. "There's more over there."

He smiled as Cody shook his head in disbelief then let it fall from his face when the phone rang. He looked at Cody, who looked just as anxious and hesitantly picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Randy, its Detective Rosen."

Randy took a deep breath and replied, "Yes, what can I do for you, sir? Any news?"

"Jensen is ready to break. He's prepared to tell everything he knows but there's one catch."

Randy heard the detective pause and then say, "He'll only talk to you. Are you willing to do it?"

"Of course, I'll go right down."

Randy let Rosen agree and quickly hung up the phone. "Jensen's gonna talk! He wants me, though, not the cops. I gotta go down there."

Cody quickly nodded and walked with him out to his car. "I'll let everyone know where you are."

Randy slid in the car and said, "Order some dinner and have a good meal. I'll call as soon as I know anything. Give Al a kiss for me."

Cody nodded and watched him drive away. He felt all his hopes go with Randy in that car.

* * *

Randy pulled up to the back entrance of the police station and quickly went inside. The activity and noise level in the precinct were high and he had to search for Rosen. An officer approached him and said,

"Mr. Orton, come with me."

Randy nodded and followed the officer to the back room where people were being questioned. He saw Rosen in one of the rooms talking to Jensen through the see-through mirror. The officer led him into the room and briskly said, "Sit down while I get Rosen."

Randy nodded and frowned at the officer's tone. He saw him approach the detective and a moment later, they came back to where he sat.

"Randy, thank you for coming down."

Rosen shook Randy's hand and sat in front of him. "Jensen wants to tell you everything. He wants you in there alone, though. As you can see, we will be able to see you, so you will be safe. If you feel uncomfortable, just say so and I will go in. Can you do this?"

Randy stood up and said, "Yeah, let's go. I'm not scared of this old man. We need to finish this."

Rosen nodded and led Randy to where Jensen sat in front of a large oak table with handcuffs on his wrists. He closed the door behind Randy when he entered the room.

"Please come in and have a seat, boy."

Jensen smiled thinly as Randy sat across from him. Randy stared at his calm, smiling face and said, "OK, start talking, old man."

Jensen laughed and shook his head at the same time. "I knew you were going to be trouble the moment you and your little boyfriend moved into the neighborhood. Then, as if you two weren't bad enough, you had those other two hooligans around every single day!"

Randy looked at him and asked, "Yet, we're not the ones in handcuffs right now, are we?"

Jensen shrugged. "Who cares? I understand why she would want to get rid of you. You saved her from crazy Rose, which was great, but in a way you made her life even more hellish. You put her and her family in the limelight so everyone knew them. They even got suspicious about the boy. You know he has gifts, don't you?"

Randy stared and asked, "Are we talking about Lily and Angel?"

Jensen laughed loudly. "What, are you slow, boy?" He laughed again and continued talking without letting Randy speak.

"Of course I am. Lily was thankful you saved them from Rose but she grew to hate you for the attention you all bought her afterwards. She had to deal with all the prank calls, the letters and getting her kid tortured everyday in school. She had to deal with Mark leaving her because he couldn't deal with it!"

Randy opened his eyes in shock and said, "What? I didn't know that. I saw them a few weeks ago and they were fine."

"No they weren't, you moron! It's called putting on an act. They've been doing it for months now. She hates you all for it and decided if she was being tortured and losing someone she loves, so would you all. It's weird how you think you know someone and they look so incapable of evil, then they turn on you in an instant and you realize you know nothing!"

Jensen laughed hysterically. He looked at Randy's shocked face and said, "What's the look for? You think Lily couldn't be capable of murder? Well, she is, boy. Exhibit one and two would be your ex-wife and her hubby!"

Randy felt the anger rise in him and he stood up. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "Enough of this! If Lily did this then she will go down, but right now the question is where the hell John is? Give it up, old man."

Jensen held up his hand in mock surrender. "Whoa, now, easy, boy! Don't you wanna hear the rest of the story? Trust me, it's a good one. There's the chapter where I set your boyfriend's house on fire. Then, the one where Lily put on a disguise and bugged your daughter from our window. Oh, and the funny package Lily sent the other boy. The best though, was when the guy we hired to run the blond one down then drove him insane!"

Randy looked at him in disbelief. "I can't believe this is nothing to you. You're playing God with people's lives. You're gonna pay for all of this."

Jensen held up a hand and motioned no with his finger. "No way, boy. If I tell you anymore and where to find your boyfriend, it's because I am immune to all types of repercussion. That means, if I talk, I go free. No jail for me, boy!"

Randy laughed and sat back down. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, "No way, old man. You're gonna pay for everything you've done. You will never see the outside world again."

Jensen smiled. "Then you will never see your beloved John again."

Randy's smile faded and he just stared back at Jensen, who said, "I suggest you get your lawyers in here so we could sign an immunity affidavit. We don't know how much time this John has left."

Randy stood and turned to walk out of the room. Before stepping out, he turned back and asked, "Why did you help Lily do all these horrible things to us?"

Jensen smiled and said, "Well, what kind of daddy would I be if I didn't help my daughter get even with those who wronged her?"

**A/N: Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So, some of you didn't see that twist with Lily coming, huh! LOL, love to surprise you. **

Randy sat with his cell phone on his lap while watching Rosen talk with 2 other officers. He had called home to update his friends on the evening's happenings. The situation became more real with every one of Jensen's words he passed on to his friends. It was all starting to fall in place. The reason for their recent terrors was slowly being revealed. It seemed so difficult for them to believe that Lily could hate them that much for something they had no control of. They thought they were doing the right thing. She was in trouble and they helped her. How could she blame them for the added attention her family got? They had tried everything in their power so that none of them would ever be hounded by the media. Randy leaned back in his chair and groaned. He ran his hands through his hair and stared at the 3 officers talking.

Rosen turned to stare at him and walked over slowly. "How are you holding up?"

Randy shrugged. "How do you think? I'm still in shock over everything I've learned in the past hour. What happens now?"

Rosen sat beside him and looked grim. "He refuses to talk without an agreement that he goes free. He's willing to reveal John's exact location and give Lily up, but he wants immunity from all charges. It's all up to you and your friends right now."

Randy walked over to the window and stared at Jensen. The old man obviously had no heart. He helped his daughter commit horrific crimes and was now willing to turn her in to save himself.

Randy turned to look at Jensen. "My friends will agree with me. We need to find John. We understand that it is a horrible situation. That creep might go free, but John is more important than anything. Every minute he's gone is a minute he could be getting hurt."

Randy shook his head. "How do we work this agreement? Do we need our lawyer down here or do you guys do the paper work?"

Rosen stood up. "A little of both, but not tonight. No matter how much money your lawyer may charge you to come here at this time, I know my guys will not. It's almost midnight. I suggest you go home and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow you, the boys, my guys and your lawyer get down here and we'll get this moving.

Randy turned to look at Jensen one more time and then back to Rosen. "Fine."

* * *

On the next morning of their torment, Randy sat beside Cody and Ted in the same room as the night before. Ted stood up in front of the two-way mirror staring at Jensen, who was once again in his interrogation room, this time with his own lawyer.

Randy looked over at Brad and asked, "Thank God Alanna was still asleep when we left. I don't want her to drive Carol crazy."

Cody nodded. "I can't believe we had to lie to them. I feel so guilty like I lied to my own mom."

Everyone nodded and remained silent. They had told Carol they had to come and sign some paperwork. They couldn't explain the whole Lily and Jensen thing to them just yet. As shocked as they were by Lily's betrayal, they feel Carol and Alanna would just be even more destroyed that John helped this woman and now she had him God knows where. As much as it hurt them to lie to their loved ones, they felt it was in their best interest. Hopefully, they would sign the papers Jensen wanted and all would be over tonight. It would be great if they could walk into the house with John beside them.

"It'll be OK. They'll understand." Ted said before going to sit besides Cody.

The door to their room opened and Rosen walked in with their WWE provided lawyer, Marty Lewis. Rosen nodded towards their direction and Marty got set up on the table before them. He pulled out an official looking document and motioned the boys over.

"As you can see, gentlemen, this paper is full of big words that pretty much just say Jensen has to give us the information leading to Lily's arrest and conviction plus the exact location of John's whereabouts. When we have John and Lily in our possession, all charges already bought against him for this matter will be dropped and no new charges are to be filed."

Marty looked at them uncertainly. "Boys, are you absolutely certain about this? This man helped Lily do horrible things to you and should be punished for it."

All 3 friends nodded their heads and Randy said, "We're sure. Let's get this signed and done with."

Marty nodded and handed the paper over to Rosen, who had to sign as well. He quickly read it and signed. All 3 friends repeated his actions until the only signature that remained was Jensen's, his lawyers and Marty's.

"Randy, you have to take this in so he could sign it. He'll review it with his lawyer and hopefully sign right then and there."

Randy nodded and slowly walked into Jensen's room.

* * *

John opened his eyes and struggled to keep them open. He had lost all track of time and the pain in his head was nonstop. It hurt to even open his eyes. The few number of times he did manage to open his eyes told him he was in the same room. He had not seen his attacker any of those times or a way that might lead him out of this hole he was in.

"I've gotta stay up and find a way out of here."

His purpose was simple. "Find a way out."

The problem was that his purpose had been the same every time he opened his eyes and it had never amounted to anything. He had to crawl to a corner of the darkened room so he could relieve himself, but other than that he was immobile. The pain made it virtually impossible to see, so he figured it wouldn't let him stand up and walk around either. He had to fight, though. The pain could not render him helpless for another day.

John groaned and urged his eyes to focus and they slowly did. He recognized the familiar location of the basement and he scanned it quickly. He was still alone. John forced himself to stand up despite the screams in his head. He closed his mouth tightly to keep the screams from coming out. Bracing himself on the wall, he looked around for a glimmer of light or a doorway. Through his cloudy vision he spotted a small shaft of light and he walked to it grasping at everything he could find to help him keep his balance. The light led to a doorway that he managed to push open with a few thumps. He closed his eyes at the brightness of the room and then slowly opened them again. He was in a bathroom. John laughed and groaned at the same time. He looked down at himself and his clothes covered in dirt and said, "God, please let there be running water."

He walked towards a huge tub that sat in the middle of the room and looked in it. His blurry vision saw shades of white, red and blue. He slowly shook his head and tried to focus on the tub. John bent towards the bathtub and peered in closely. To his shock and horror his eyes focused enough to identify what the colors in the tub were. He was staring at Mark wearing a blue shirt and jeans, lying in a tub of ice and his own crimson red blood.

* * *

Jensen stared at Randy with a look of smugness. "Well, I suppose now I have to follow up on my part of the deal, huh."

Randy just stared at him.

"Fine, boy, you got it. Your little boyfriend is in the basement of Angel's school building. She was doing the principal, so he gave her access to all his keys and one just happened to open a private storage area down there. Lily turned it into a playroom of her own."

Jensen laughed and continued. "I'm sure you know the address since it was you who got Angel into that fancy school. I sure hope he's still alive down there."

Jensen smiled.

Randy got up and walked out of the room back to his friends. They all stared at Rosen, who was already on the phone sending police to the school building. When he hung up the phone he looked at them and said, "They'll be there shortly. I know it sounds horrible, but now we just have to sit and relax until the SLMPD calls with news. I'll go in and question him on Lily's whereabouts so we can catch her."

Everyone nodded and sat down to wait.

* * *

Carol sat in Randy's house with her stomach in knots. The boys had left early this morning with some excuse about paperwork. They seemed to all be hiding something but she wasn't sure if it was real or just her nerves making her see things. She knew the boys and John had formed one big family so they would never do anything to hurt him or put him in graver danger. Especially Randy. They two had formed a huge bond as friends many years ago and had decided to take it further by becoming romantically involved. It was a huge shock to Carol, not because she didn't know her son was gay, but because she had always thought of the boys as close as brothers. It was obvious they didn't, though, and she couldn't have been happier. What a better partner for John that someone she already loved and approved of. That was Randy to her.

"Grandma Carol, someone is coming! Look outside!"

Carol looked over at Alanna who ran to the window. She saw a black van stopped in front of Randy's house and a tall woman step out of it. The woman smiled at Alanna when she saw her in the window and walked quickly to the house.

"Hey, look who it is, princess!"

Alanna smiled and ran to open the door. She turned to Carol and said, "It's Lily!"

Lily walked into the house with a huge smile on her face and said, "Hey, my beautiful girl! Your daddy sent me to pick you up."

Carol stared at Lily and her smiling face. For some unexplained reason her smile sent a chill down Carol's back. Lily enveloped her in a hug.

"Carol, I wasn't aware you were visiting! I've been away handling some family business in the south and just returned. I figure after a business trip, it was time to take a fun trip!"

Carol nodded. "Yes, well with everything that is going on, I had to come be here with the boys. It's nice to see you again. Randy didn't mention you were coming to pick up Alanna."

Lily continued to smile and waved her hand. "Well, you know men; always forgetting things! He just called to remind me. You know, with all the recent stress he felt it was better if Alanna went with me and my son for a few days. She and Angel are great friends and they'll have a blast together. Shall we pack?"

Carol laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to imply I don't trust you, dear, but I need to call Randy first."

Lily's smile faded and a sad look came upon her face. She moved over towards the sofa and sat. Carol stared at her and held Alanna's hand tightly. Lily suddenly looked up at Carol with tears in her eyes.

"Did you know that I'm all alone now? My husband and I have separated and he's on the verge of taking my son with him. This might be the last chance I have to spend with my son and I want to make it memorable. I also wanted to help out Randy by taking Al with us, but even that's difficult. It seems no one trusts me anymore. I'm going to wind up alone forever."

Tears ran down Lily's face and Carol stared. She smiled and said, "Lily, we all trust and love you. I'm sure whatever is going on with you and Mark will all blow over. He would never take Angel's love for you. You will never be alone."

She looked down at Alanna and said, "I'll take Al upstairs and get her ready. Why don't you go clean up?"

Lily smiled and nodded before moving towards the restroom on the lower level of Randy's house.

Carol quickly took Alanna's hand and pulled her upstairs. Instead of going into her bedroom, Carol walked into Randy's, locked the door and grabbed the phone off the nightstand. Alanna grabbed her hand to get her attention.

"Grandma Carol, why aren't we packing? I need to go get dressed."

Carol quickly pressed Randy's phone number into the handset and said, "Just give me one minute, princess. I wanna talk to your Daddy first and make sure he sent Lily here before we pack."

Alanna smiled and nodded. She sat on the bed with Carol, who waited impatiently for Randy to pick up the phone.

* * *

"Randy, your ass is ringing."

Randy looked at Cody and smiled sarcastically. He reached into the back pocket and looked at his caller id which read 'Home'.

"Hello?"

"Randy, thank God you answered."

Randy could hear Carol's nervousness come through from her voice. "Carol, what's wrong? Are you and Alanna OK?"

"Lily is here. She said you called and told her to pick up Alanna for some trip, but something seems weird. I don't believe her. I'm sorry if you did ask her to come but I just felt I had to call you."

Randy took a deep breath and walked quickly over to Rosen as he listened to Carol talk. He grabbed his shoulder and motioned to the telephone, quickly putting it on speaker. Carol's voice filled the room.

"Randy, you still there?"

Randy put a finger to his lips and signaled for everyone to be quiet. "Carol, I'm still here. Listen to me, carefully, please. I never called Lily and told her to pick up Alanna. She is not to go with her. Please don't let her out of your sight."

"Don't worry, Randy, I won't."

Randy saw the shocked reactions of everyone around him and they all crowded around the phone in his hand.

"Carol, this is the worst time to have to tell you this, but Lily is the one responsible for John's disappearance. The guy we're confronting at the police station turned out to be her father, Mr. Jensen. He told us everything and Lily was the mastermind behind it."

Carol drew in a deep breath. "What are you talking about? This lady that my son helped save from a psycho is the one responsible for his kidnapping?"

Randy nodded and then said, "Yes," into the phone.

"I could kill her, Randy. She has the nerve to walk in this house and speak to me! I could just kill her."

"No, Carol, listen to me. Lily is dangerous and you have to stay away from her. Please remember that you are alone in that house with her and you have Alanna with you. No harm can come to either of you. Just humor her, Carol, please. The cops are on the way."

Randy felt anxious and he looked over at Rosen for reassurance. Rosen nodded and grabbed his walkie-talkie of his belt. He proceeded to talk into it and walked out of the room quickly.

"Carol, listen to me. Go back to her and humor her. Give her coffee or something. We'll all be there soon."

Carol replied, "I'll try, but please hurry."

Randy hung up the phone and got in Rosen's face. "Why the hell isn't my house under watch? Where the hell is the patrol car?"

Rosen opened his mouth and Randy held up his hand.

"Don't even bother trying to explain your mistake. I gotta go. I need to be in my house with my daughter right now." He turned and ran out of the police station with Cody and Ted on his heels.

* * *

Carol placed the phone back in its holder and looked at Alanna, who was staring at her. She smiled and took her on her lap.

"Alanna, listen to me. I know you think Lily is here to pick you up, but you can't go with her. Daddy just said that you have to stay here with me, OK."

Alanna frowned and asked, "But why do I have to stay? Lily said Daddy said I could go!"

Carol frantically thought of how to explain it and decided she had to be semi-honest. "Baby, I'm sorry to tell you this, buy Lily lied to us. Daddy never called her. We have to pretend we believe her, though. Daddy is on his way home and we'll let him handle it and explain it to us."

Alanna still looked confused but she nodded slowly. A knock sounded on the door and Lily peered through.

"Hey, I thought you guys were packing."

Carol quickly stood up and walked over to her. "We were looking for Alanna's bear. She thought she left it here."

Lily smiled and motioned outside. "Well, we don't really need that bear, do we Alanna? How about we just go without it?"

Carol looked over at Alanna and back to Lily. She was filled with rage and a strong desire to hurt this woman, but she had to hold back. She had to stall this woman until the authorities could take her away, but she had no idea how.

"No! I'm not leaving without my teddy!"

Carol looked down at Alanna who was screaming loudly now. She stomped her foot and ran out of the room into her own, slamming the door loudly.

Carol smiled to herself and took Lily by the arm. "Sweetie, lets got down and have some coffee. Alanna will find her bear on her own if we just let her."

Lily looked at her watch and sighed loudly. "I don't have time for this. We need to go. Tell her I'll buy her another bear." She turned and walked to Alanna's room. She tried to open the door, but Alanna had locked it.

"Alanna, let's go now. I'll buy you another bear!"

"No! I want my bear! Go away!" Alanna's voice rang out through the house. It was definitely something else she had inherited from her father.

Lily sighed again and began to fume. Her face turned red and she balled her fists tightly. Her eyes closed and she raised her hand to knock on the door again.

"Lily, wait. Why the rush? You know how kids are. Maybe we should just leave her alone for a few minutes. Let's go down and relax for awhile."

"I said no! I need to leave now!" Lily paced the area before her and grew impatient with every passing moment.

"No really, why the rush, Lily?"

She turned and looked into the face of Randy and smiled.

"Well, trying to get back to my child and husband, of course. It's nice to see you again, Randy." She took a step towards him with open arms and he immediately backed up.

Randy frowned and said, "Funny, I heard you had no husband anymore. I heard he met a terrible demise."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Wherever did you hear that?"

Randy smiled. "Your dad had a big mouth. You can tell him that when you join him in jail."

Lily's eyes opened in shock and she turned to look behind Randy's shoulder. Rosen ran into the hallway followed by 4 more officers. They quickly grabbed her and led her shrieking out of the house.

Randy moved over to Carol and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for protecting my daughter. I think I broke the speed barrier driving here."

Carol smiled and watched as they dragged Lily off. "I still can't believe this. Thank God she's gone and can't hurt you boys again."

Randy smiled and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I wanted to get John back first. Jensen told us where he is and a squad has been sent over there. I'm sure he'll be fine, Carol. We just have to wait now and not lose faith."

"I won't, sweetheart. I understand." Carol nodded slowly and smiled.

"You know, your kid in there has one pair of lungs. She started screaming about a bear when I told her we couldn't let Lily take her. I wonder who she gets it from!"

Randy laughed and knocked on Alanna's door. "Al, open the door for me, baby."

Alanna quickly opened the door and jumped into Randy's arms. "Daddy, is Lily gone? Grandma said she wanted to take me but you said no. She still wanted to take me, though. She's a liar, Daddy!"

Randy hugged his child tightly and said, "She's gone, baby. You won't see her for awhile. She did something bad and she has to go away now."

Alanna looked at Randy closely and asked, "But what about Angel?"

Randy frowned and for the first time thought what that poor boy must be going through. "That's a good question."

Alanna nodded and held onto Randy as he walked downstairs with Carol to where Ted and Cody sat.

Upon seeing Alanna they immediately rushed over to her. Alanna smiled and let go of Randy and into Cody's arms. She patted the bandages still covering his arm and leaned over to kiss Ted. Everyone began talking animatedly and Alanna relished in the attention. Randy watched and listened with a smile, but his mind wandered. He was anxious for news on John and the wait was torture.

An hour passed and he stood in the kitchen tapping his fingers in front of the stove.

"Hey, what's going on in here? What do I smell?"

Randy turned to see Cody standing in the kitchen entryway with his mouth open. He smiled and pointed to the stove. "I'm actually cooking. I can't remember the last time I did."

Cody smiled and looked around. "Cool, John can come home to some good home cooking. Can I help?"

Randy pointed to the salad ingredients on the counter and said, "Can you handle the salad?"

Cody nodded and the two worked quietly for awhile until he asked, "Ran, do you think they found Johnny? Maybe Jensen lied to us and they haven't found him. That could be why they haven't called."

Randy took the chicken out of the oven and put it on the counter to cool. "I've thought of that but I can't imagine what I'll do if it's true. We can't think that way. He's going to be fine and they will call soon. For now we're just gonna eat and talk about anything else."

Cody smiled and nodded. He went out to the dining room and set the table while Randy called everyone in to eat.

The entire group had settled in to eat when Randy's doorbell rang. He quickly stood and went to open it. Detective Rosen stood before him with a grim look on his face.

"Randy, I have some good news and some bad news."

Randy took a deep breath and asked, "Did you find John?"

Rosen nodded and said, "Yeah, that's part of the bad news."

**A/N: Review because sadly, we are coming to an end...**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: One chapter left after this one and Rose is retired! **

Randy followed Rosen to the hospital with his heart in his throat the whole way. John had been found. He had been in the exact location Jensen had said, to the dismay of the principal of the school building. He had no idea he had been unwillingly part of Lily's plan. No charges would be brought against him, but he would have to go in for questioning to determine exactly what he knew.

The bad news Rosen had spoken of was of the discovery made in that basement. Besides John, the officers found Mark's body. He had been dead for days, but Lily had preserved his body so medical examiners were able to determine the cause of death. He had been killed with a hit to the head. It was so powerful that it killed him instantly. The suspicion was the blow had come from a man, most likely Jensen.

John had been found unconscious in the area right outside of the room holding Mark's body. He was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. He was being treated for that as well as some cuts and bruises he sustained, most specifically one on his head. He was expected to make a full recovery, but it would take time.

Randy's heart had practically stopped when Rosen said he had bad news. Rosen had quickly calmed him and the rest of the family. Randy had to beg everyone to stay and let him go see John in the hospital alone. Everyone wanted to follow him out the door, even Alanna, who had by now figured out something was wrong with her Uncle John.

Randy assured everyone he would call as soon as he got to the hospital and spoke to John's doctors. First, they would have to wait until he regained consciousness.

Randy took a deep breath and pulled into a parking spot next to Rosen's car. He quickly got out and followed the Detective inside.

"So, remember what I told you, Randy. John is still unconscious and he has a severe head wound. He's going to be bandaged and will not look the same as when you last saw him. He has a concussion so it is important that we let him get his rest and heal. He'll wake up when he's ready and then the doctor's will know if he suffered any more damage."

Randy nodded and found himself in front of John's door. Two officers stood in the doorway and as Randy stood there, a nurse came out.

"Can I help you, sir? Are you a family member of Mr. Cena?"

Randy nodded and asked, "How is he?"

The nurse smiled and patted his hand. "He's fine. I just gave him a small bath to clean him up and get rid of all the soot. He's sleeping now, but should awaken soon, I imagine. I doubt they'll be any other problem."

Randy smiled and nodded. He slowly pushed open the door and his mind played a flash of seeing Sam in a hospital bed just days before. He shook his head trying to clear the image and stared inside. John lay on the hospital bed with a huge white bandage on his head. His eyes were closed and Randy saw his chest slowly moving up and down with every breath he took. Randy smiled as tears of relief came to his eyes and moved closer to the bed. He took John's hand and gently pressed a kiss to it.

Randy pulled up a chair and dragged it as close to John's bed as it would go. He continued to hold on to John's hand and just stare at him, waiting for his eyes to open.

What seemed like hours later, Randy felt a pull on his hand. He slowly turned his head and looked into John's eyes, which were fluttering open.

"Wake up, gorgeous."

John's face transformed with a frown and his eyes slowly opened and focused on Randy. "Where am I?"

Randy grasped his hand towards his chest. "In the hospital. The cops found you before anything really bad happened, thank God."

John smiled. "For a minute there, I thought you guys would never find me."

Randy smiled and sat beside John in the bed. He softly caressed John's face and bent to kiss him gently on the lips. "You have to know I would never stop looking for you."

John smiled at him and nodded. "I missed that."

"Me, too."

John looked around the hospital room. "Who did this to me? To us?"

Randy frowned and kissed John's forehead. His eyes opened and he wondered how to explain everything to John. Thankfully at that moment, Rosen stepped in the room.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt. John, I'm glad you're awake and feeling better."

John smiled and nodded. "Thanks, but I'm very confused."

Rosen nodded. "Of course you are. Let me fill you in on what's been going on."

Randy watched John's facial expression go from confusion to horror after he was told everything that had happened.

"I remember seeing Mark in a tub. He was dead, I think. I can't remember much. I don't even remember how I got in that basement. I was completely out of it."

Rosen nodded. "Yes, Mark's dead. I just got back from questioning Lily. She admitted to everything Jensen had already told us. She also admitted to killing Mark and being the one responsible for your kidnapping. She sprayed you with mace on Cody and Ted's property and knocked you out."

"God, how did it come to this? How did Lily get this way?" said John

Randy sighed and wrapped his arms around John. "Nobody knows but it's over now. She's going to go away for a long time. I just wish we could send Jensen with her."

Rosen smiled and sat back in his chair. "Oh, Jensen's going. Seems your lawyer is very smart. He put some fine print at the bottom of the paper we all signed. All signatures had to be witnessed by a notary public and the paper had to be stamped by him or her as well."

Randy frowned. "I always thought lawyers were notaries as well."

Rosen nodded. "Yeah, they are. Your lawyer, though, didn't sign the paper himself. Jensen didn't know his signature was needed for it to be a legally binding document, so he signed. That paper is absolutely worthless now which means he is going to go away for all the crimes he's committed."

Randy laughed. "I can't believe it. He thought he was so smart. I was so pissed he was going to get away."

Rosen stood up and looked down at them. "Don't worry. It's all over now."

"Wait a minute. Lily's going to jail and Mark's dead. Has anyone thought of Angel? Where is he?"

John looked at Randy and Rosen for his answer.

Rosen shook his head. "Don't worry. As soon as Mark's body was discovered, police went up to Lily's home. Angel was there safe and sound in his room. He was awaiting Lily who told him she went to your house to pick up Alanna. According to him, they were going to Disney World. He's in protective custody now and he'll be placed in a home as soon as we can find him one."

John frowned. "He'll be placed in a home? What does that mean for him?"

Rosen shrugged. "Well, he's an orphan now. He has no family so he's officially a ward of the state. He'll be moved to foster care and hopefully find an adoptive home soon."

Randy took a deep breath and stared at John. John looked at him and shook his head. "No way! Angel has known us for awhile now. He can come live with us. What will it take for us to adopt him?"

Rosen smiled. "I'm guessing not much if you guys already know him and he gets along with you well. I'll try to help as much as I can and see about moving him to your home as soon as possible. Someone has to clear up what's been going on with him and unfortunately that someone is me. He still has no idea his parents are both gone."

Randy and John nodded and said goodbye as Rosen left the room to deliver the bad news to Angel.

Randy turned to John and smiled. "So, we're gonna become parents again?"

John smiled and nodded. "We can't let that kid go to some strangers home. We love him and we'll make him our own."

Randy smiled and kissed him deeply. "I gotta say it again. I'm just blown away by how incredible a father you can be."

John laughed and took Randy's hand. "I learned from the best."

He looked down to his and Randy's hands folded together over his chest and then back into Randy's bright eyes.

"Randy, where do we stand? We've been having problems and I guess we settled them but I'm still not sure. I mean, I'm sure how I feel about you, but I need to hear you tell me exactly what you feel."

Randy sighed and bit his lower lip. He looked thoughtfully at the ceiling before raising his eyes to meet John's.

"John, I love you. You have to know that. The arguments we had were stupid and I'm sorry we had them. There's no doubt in my mind that I want to be with you forever. I'm a huge pain in the ass and I hate asking for help even when I know I desperately need it. I'm too picky about things being clean and in their spot and sometimes I think everyone is wrong but me and that the world revolves around me." Randy took a deep breath and shrugged. "I hope you can deal with that because I don't want to lose you. I can't and refuse to lose you."

John laughed loudly. "You are absolutely right about everything you said. You forgot one thing, though."

"What's that?"

John smiled and put his hand on Randy's chest. "You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You love harder than anyone."

Randy smiled and shook his head.

"You know it's true, Randy. You suffocate people with how much you care about them and how much you love them. Look at how much you push Cody and Ted to be this honest and loving couple that they are. Look at how your daughter's eyes light up when you enter a room and at the amazing relationship you were able to have with her mother even after you two split. You make people feel like they are the only one in the world when you're speaking to them. It's a wonderful feeling knowing that you're number one in someone else's heart. That's how you make me feel. I know you love me."

Randy smiled. "I never think of myself that way. I just am what I am. So, are we really going to make this work? Seems we have all the ingredients for a great relationship."

John nodded. "Yeah, we're in it for the long haul. I'm gonna have to move in permanently, though, so you'd better move my stuff back into our bedroom. It's not just yours anymore!"

Randy laughed. "It's already been done. You're not leaving my sight for a long, long time."

He smiled and kissed John deeply before hugging him tightly.

**A/N: Aww, hope you like this ending. Epilogue is next and we find out what happens so time down the road...**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Ah, the end is here. How sweet it was! **

Time had passed by so quickly it seemed. In the past 5 months life for the group of friends had settled down and gained back some normalcy. All four friends had gone back to their careers and were happily wrestling with WWE again. Randy and John's parents, who had been gifted a home of their own in St. Louis, took charge of the children the days they traveled. Cody and Ted now split their time between their home in St. Louis and their home in Florida.

Everyone was trying to adapt to the changes in their lives now. It was still a surreal situation for them to have to deal with. They had almost been killed for doing a good deed. In a world when many just turn their heads at the sight of someone needing help, they had stopped and looked. It had almost killed them.

Lily and Jensen were convicted of their crimes and were shipped off to correctional facilities and were serving the maximum time penalties for their crimes.

More information had surfaced on Jensen and Lily's plans for the rest of the group, due to Detective Rosen's investigations. She had kept detailed files on each member of the group, including blueprints and surveillance photos of homes and cars. Background information had surfaced on Martin Jensen, as well. After helping Rose and her husband set up their business, he and Rose began a sordid affair which produced Lily. He remained in the family's life much to the dismay of Rose's husband, who suspected of their relationship. However, the two never publicly acknowledged their relationship even after the death of Rose's husband. He admitted to police that he was involved in the first attack on the group in "The Rose Inn", but not of helping hold Lily and her family hostage. He managed to escape the fire that killed Rose and decided to contact Lily months later in attempt to build a relationship.

Mark had been buried in the same cemetery as Sam and the entire group made sure to pay their respects to both often. Angel and Alanna seem to respond to it and had bonded over their loss of a parent.

The group still maintained contact with Detective Rosen. They were determined to remain involved in what happened to Lily and Jensen but not let it run their life. The group had held their first press conference since the horrors had begun in their lives after John was released from the hospital. It was made clear to everyone what was real and what was false, but the main purpose was to stress the importance of moving on and healing the wounds. Thankfully, the press was respecting their wishes and fans were enveloping them with love, support and encouragement every night they went out to work.

* * *

Randy sat on the sand a few yards away from the house he and John had rented for their rare week off from work in Southern California. He smiled as he lay back in the sand watching Alanna and Angel splash in the ocean. The two had become even greater friends with the new move of Angel joining the family. Randy had expected and been prepared for some jealously, but none had surfaced. Alanna was aware of Angel's situation and was determined to show him love and that he belonged in her family.

At the same moment Randy sat thinking of his new life, Angel looked up and waved. He ran out of the water and flopped down besides Randy on the sand. Randy smiled and said, "Yuck, Angel, you're all wet!"

Angel giggled and shrugged. He quickly got serious and thoughtfully said, "You know, I've been thinking maybe I should call John, Daddy. He's like my daddy was and I know my daddy liked John. I think my daddy in heaven would like that. Do you think John would mind?"

Randy smiled and nodded. "If you want to and it makes you happy, then I think you should. I'm sure John will love it."

Angel nodded. "Then I will. I'll call you, Uncle Randy from now on." He looked over at Alanna still splashing happily in the shallow water. "Alanna needs you more than me."

Randy understood what the child meant and nodded. "You know, I think you're really an old man in that 7 year old body. You're way too smart."

Angel smiled and looked behind Randy. John walked up slowly with two boxes of juice in his hand. He smiled and said, "Hey, how's one of my two favorite kids doing?"

Angel shrugged happily and looked towards the sky. John sat besides Randy and gave Angel the juice boxes.

"Kiddo, take one and give the other to Alanna. You guys have been in the sun for too long."

Angel nodded and stood up. He smiled and said, "Thanks, Daddy!" before running off with the juice.

John watched him leave in shock. His mouth hung open and he quietly asked, "Did he just call me Daddy?"

Randy smiled and kissed his forehead. "Oh yeah. Face it, my love, you are a Dad."

John smiled and looked towards the kids. He sighed contently and smiled at Randy. They stared into each others eyes momentarily before leaning in for a kiss.

"All right, that's enough."

John opened one eye to see Cody smirking down at them with a cooler in his arms. "Codes, go away. You're ruining a moment."

Cody shrugged and sat on Randy's other side. "Too damn bad because I'm here now. Besides, don't you two get sick of each other? You're like stuck at the hip, amongst other places. As much as Teddy and I love each other, we don't act as sickening as you two."

John raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so that wasn't you and Ted I had to hose down last night for fear of scaring my children with your antics?"

Cody rolled his eyes and looked towards the house. The door opened and Ted came out carrying a tray of food. He stopped at the table next to the patio and called everyone over.

"Hey, I made lunch!"

Alanna and Angel ran over and Randy wrapped them in clean towels.

Ted smiled and set out the food. "Kids, go inside and clean up. You're all full of sand."

Alanna and Angel nodded and ran off into the house, their towels flapping behind them, while the men set the table.

"I need to sit. My arm hurts from carrying that cooler."

Ted looked over at Cody, who was rubbing his arm dramatically and pouting. "Don't be such a brat. How long has it been since the dog bite? Your arm is fine."

"Hey, it can still hurt. At least I still have an arm to hurt, though." Cody smiled and placed a kiss on Ted's lips. He sighed loudly and asked, "Do you guys ever wonder? Why did this all happen to us?"

They all stared at him and answered with three collective shrugs.

"I do! Maybe we were all horrible people in a past life. You know, like killers or lawyers and now we have to pay for the wrongs we did then." said Ted, pulling Cody into his lap.

Randy laughed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter why it happened to us. We can't be held responsible for what other people did, or our past life actions, Teddy. Just chalk it up to bad timing. It could have been anyone who walked into the inn that night."

"Yeah, but it wasn't anybody. It was us." Cody leaned his head on Ted's shoulder.

"Why don't we look at the positive? If we had never pulled up to that inn then we would have never met Angel and he's a pretty cool kid." said Ted.

Everyone nodded and looked towards the house. Randy frowned suddenly. "Where the hell are they?"

"I sent them to clean up." Ted looked at Randy, who stood up. He walked over to the house quickly and the screen door banged shut behind him. "Al and Angel, where are you?"

Randy scanned the living room for them and without warning felt hands on his back. He spun around nervously and met Angel and Alanna's smiling faces.

"Daddy, did we scare you?"

Randy laughed, his voice full of relief. "Yeah, you brats, you did!"

He took them each by a hand and walked outside. They ran towards the rest of the group and sat down. Randy sighed down and shook his head at his earlier nervousness when he couldn't find the kids. As hard as it was, he still had to learn to control his uneasiness when they weren't near.

"Come on, let's eat!" Ted clapped his hands loudly and started giving out sandwiches.

John looked over at Randy and smiled. He knew Randy still got anxious whenever the kids stepped away from him and the anxiety had only doubled since Angel joined their family. He squeezed Randy's hand reassuringly and said, "Hey, tomorrow's our last day here. How about we head back into the city? We could get some sightseeing done and get the kids started on back to school shopping."

Randy smiled and nodded.

"So, our plans are set for tomorrow, but today is still young." Cody looked around the table and raised an eyebrow. "How about after lunch I drive out into town, pile the car with junk food and rent us some scary movies?" He looked at the kids for encouragement and continued. "I think we could watch scary movies again. Nothing in a movie could be scarier than what we went through."

Everyone laughed and Ted said, "That's true, hun. Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Hours later Randy walked out of the darkened living room to the kitchen. Everyone was engrossed in the middle of "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", but he needed his fix. He yawned and poured himself a glass of soda while looking out to the darkened sea.

"Hey, are you drinking more soda?"

He turned to see John walking into the kitchen to put some popcorn in the microwave. "Yeah, I quit smoking only to develop a caffeine addiction."

John laughed and said, "Caffeine is better than nicotine."

Randy smiled and rinsed out his cup. John smiled as he watched Randy go through the familiar habit. Randy looked up and walked over to where John stood. He put his arms around his waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Do you remember at lunch when Teddy said we should look at the positive of us ending up in the Rose Inn that night?"

John leaned his head back and whispered into Randy's neck. "Yes."

"Well, I'll always think the best positive was us admitting our feelings for each other." Randy kissed John's forehead and looked into John's eyes.

"I think that was a huge positive. It's worked out pretty good, huh."

John smiled and gently kissed Randy's lips. "Yeah, it's worked out pretty damn good."

Randy smiled and laid his forehead on John's. He closed his eyes and relished the moment for as long as he had it.

As if on cue, it ended.

"Hey, where the hell is the popcorn?" Ted's voice echoed through the house loudly.

"Teddy, shut it. You scared the kids!"

"We're not scared, Uncle Cody."

Randy smiled at the sound of his daughter's voice and laughed when he heard Cody respond, "Well then, you scared me, so shut it!"

"You know, there's no such thing as monsters."

John laughed at Angel's comment. He looked at Randy and sighed. They would have to wait until later to get some private time. He took the popcorn out and took Randy's hand. They walked hand in hand back to their family and their new life.

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews throughout this entire series, everyone! You guys rock!**


End file.
